FILIPINO senator and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao was scheduled to fly out to Los Angeles Saturday evening to conclude the second phase of his training camp at the Wild Card Boxing Club of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
“I am excited to climb and fight atop the ring once again. I really miss boxing,” Philboxing.com quoted Pacquiao.
The eight-division world champion and his team, headed wife Jinkee Pacquiao and the Pacman’s trainer Roach. will take the 9 p.m. PAL flight to Los Angeles.
Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser Michael Koncz said the Filipino was scheduled to jog early morning Saturday, eat his breakfast afterward then take a nap to obtain reserve energy.
Koncz who has been Pacquiao’s adviser for some nine years said: “He will go to the gym early, say around 1 p.m. to have ample time to prepare for his flight around 9 p.m.”
This will be the last sparring session of Pacquiao in the Philippines.
“There were a lot of new challenges. However, I am very happy and pleased with Manny’s training,” Koncz told the Manila Standard early Saturday.
During his thrice-a-week sparring sessions with unbeaten 5’10” Jose Ramirez, Pacquiao at times looked flat, according to Roach and strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune, because of working long hours in the Senate and doing his job diligently.
But on other days, he was “devastating,” prompting Roach to express the hope that “Manny will catch Vargas on a good day.”
Before he left for LA last Monday, Fortune told Manila Standard, he had watched some sparring footage and “Manny was ridiculously fast and even on a bad day, looks good.”