Obviously benefiting from a one week break from sparring imposed by celebrated trainer Freddie Roach, eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao resumed sparring at the Wild Card Gym on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) and looked terrific.
Pacquiao sparred a total of twelve rounds with two separate sparring partners whose identities were kept secret according to Top Rank publicist Fred Sternberg.
The well-known Sternberg told the New Standard/boxingmirror.com that ?both sparring partners said they had never seen so many punches come from different angles. They came from all over?.
It was a reassuring display by the hero of millions in the Philippines and around the world that Pacquiao is ready to inflict the first loss on the hitherto unblemished 47-0 record of undefeated pound for pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr when they clash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2 in a multi-million dollar showdown.
Pacquiao?s twelve rounds of sparring came one day after he went 16 rounds on the punch-mitts in a performance that was described as ?phenomenal.?
Sternberg said that Pacquiao yesterday ran in the morning at Griffith Park and told him later, ?I ran like a deer.?
Hundreds of media from all over the world will converge at the Wild Card Gym today for Pacquiao?s media workout, one day after Mayweather held his at the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas.
Mayweather was one and a half hours late for his workout even as a desert windstorm threatened to bring down the tent set-up in the parking lot for his press conference.
It was not lost on the New Standard/boxingmirror.com that the revered Larry Merchant had early in Pacquiao?s career in the US referred to Manny as ?a storm racing across the Pacific? with Mayweather at one point stating ?there?s no storm coming.?
While Mayweather claimed he is treating Pacquiao as just another opponent he acknowledged that the awkward style of the southpaw Pacquiao posed some problems in the ring but that he would be able to adapt to Pacquiao?s style as the rounds go by.
He said ?we?ll see what he brings to the table? pointing out that ?our styles are totally different. I fight with smarts. Every move is calculated, e very move is thought out. I?m always five to ten steps ahead of my opponent? even as he wondered aloud, ?I don?t know if he can make adjustments? because he fights the same way every fight.
Mayweather said Pacquiao ?comes at different angles so we?ll have to see. But he?s facing a solid strong welterweight.?
Roach has made it clear he wants Pacquiao to make Mayweather work every second of every round but Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said that while Floyd will use all his defensive skills against Pacquiao he won?t be afraid to attack Pacquiao from the opening bell.
He bragged ?Floyd Mayweather is going to try to take Manny Pacquiao?s head off. You can count on that happening. Floyd is looking to finish him off.?
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