Pacquiao Breaks Baguio Camp Friday

On Friday, Oct. 7, members of the training team of world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will pack up their bags and break the Baguio City training camp ending a three-week high-altitude training and physical conditioning program supervised directly by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning guru Alex Ariza.

Pacquiao and his team will drive down to Manila after the training Friday, appear in his television show Manny Many Prizes on GMA 7 on Saturday before flying to Los Angeles in the evening to continue with the second phase of his preparation for his third meeting with Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12.

"Manny did good here. We made sure that his feet got wet here," said Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach to allay concerns that the two typhoons and ravaged the country and passed through Baguio City and the lack of quality sparring partners affected Pacquiao's preparation for the historic third meeting with is Mexican nemesis.

In the three weeks that Pacquiao stayed in Baguio under the supervision of Roach and physical conditioning coach Alex Ariza and the training support staff composed of Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri, he sparred alternately with Venezuelan Jorge Linares, a lightweight, Philippine welterweight champion Dennis Laurente and WBO Oriental featherweight champion Lorenzo Villanueva.

"We will have 100 more rounds of sparring (in the Wild Card Gym)," Roach said yesterday.

Pacquiao himself said he was happy with the Baguio training.

"It was Freddie who was trying to control me. I wanted to run more and train more. I'm like a race horse raring to run," he told The Manila Times yesterday.

In his last sparring yesterday with Linares, who will fight Antonio Demarco for the world lightweight title on Oct. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Pacquiao showed exceptional speed and even goaded the smaller Venezuelan fighter to hit him during the seven round sparring.

"Go, go, go," he exhorted Linares as he allowed him to land punches to his midsection which he effectively parried with his arms. When he hit back, it was obvious that the Venezuelan fighter felt the power that Pacquiao is known of.

After the sparring with Linares, Pacquiao did mitts sparring and drill with Roach for 10 more rounds before hitting the bag and the speed ball.

It was not known who will spar with Pacquiao in the second phase of the preparation for Marquez at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.

Source: PhilBoxing.com