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Manny Pacquiao is a fighter
of many punches. However, most of the time, he's a man of few words, which is a
bit of a problem when you attempt to interview him. No, it's not that he's
unpleasant or angry with the media - he's just the opposite in fact - but by
nature, he's a soft-spoken individual (at least with the American press) and
while much is on the line this upcoming Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena against Tim Bradley, you couldn't sense any real sense of urgency from
his answers.
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Photo © K9 Photos, MaxBoxing |
Speaking inside the dressing
room from the downstairs portion of the Wild Card Boxing Club with his trusty dog,
“Pac-Man” by his side a couple of weeks ago, Pacquiao was at his understated
best.
Does he still have the same
hunger and passion for the sport of boxing?
“Yeah, that's what I'm trying
to prove this time around.”
What changes in the rematch
with Bradley?
“I have to put more action,
more aggression and throwing more combinations.”
Was he satisfied with his
return to the ring versus Brandon Rios?
“I felt happy and of course,
I proved to myself that I can still box.”
Did he feel any apprehension
in that fight?
“No, I didn't feel nervous.”
Hey, Manny; slow down. We're
having transcribing your soliloquies. But seriously, this amiable gentleman
from General Santos City is about as expansive in his answers to media
inquiries as Marshawn Lynch. Whether it's cultural or not, for Pacquiao, less
is more regarding his interactions with the media. But as you see him work out
under the guidance of trainer Freddie Roach, you witness a craftsman who still
takes great pride in his work with enough energy to light up a metropolis.
While he may not want to talk about what's at stake, those who work with
Pacquiao on a daily basis aren't so shy in expressing their admiration for his
work ethic and dedication to this game.
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Photo © K9 Photos, MaxBoxing |
When you ask Roach if his
charge still has the same passion for the sport, he says without hesitating,' “Yeah,
he definitely does and that's why he still does it. He knows he can do other stuff
if he wanted. This is what he does best and that's why he works so hard. If he
didn't like the sport, there's no way he could go through with what he does
every day.” As for the progress he's seen from the very beginning of the Rios
camp to now, the trainer states, “I think we're all the way there. He's
training really good; he's sparring well and when he wants to turn it up, he
can. He's not the most efficient guy in the gym - because he only gives you
like 50 percent [sparring] - he saves the good stuff for the fight. He's right
where I want him. He's in great shape.”
For this camp, Roach decided
to shuffle the deck and employ the likes of Steve Forbes, Lydell Rhodes and
Julian Rodriguez to move around with, believing that Pacquiao had gotten much
too cozy and friendly with the likes of David Rodela and Ray Beltran. These
guys became too familiar for Pacquiao and the sparring sessions lacked the
requisite intensity that satisfied Roach. As you see him work with this trio,
Pacquiao seems more willing to move his hands than in prior years.
“Manny's been pretty sharp
and I know that a couple of weeks ago, he was a little sick and he was getting
the rounds in and now he's been cleared up and like the other day, we sparred
and I had to laugh because he was doing some Pernell Whitaker- type moves,”
said Forbes with a chuckle while on the steps of the Wild Card before his day’s
work with Pacquiao. “His speed is there; his power's there and he was having
fun. I mean, it looked like he's really having fun in there.” Forbes has been impressed
by the enthusiasm Pacquiao comes with everyday. “He's looking like the lively,
fun guy I used to watch all the time.”
And does that surprise him?
“It didn't but then again,
it did,” said Forbes, “because he has so many commitments with the political
stuff he does, family and being a singer and all that stuff. So many
obligations but when he came here to camp, he came to be a fighter and that's
what he's looking like.”
This mood has been fun and
light in this camp, much of that has to do with the reemergence of Justin
Fortune, who, after several years of estrangement from Roach, has seamlessly
worked his way back as Pacquiao's strength-and-conditioning coach. And according
to Fortune, it’s not an old Pacquiao but the same ol' Pacquiao he has reunited
with.
“Yeah, absolutely; since the
last time I worked with Manny, he's still fast. It's just a matter of training
him back to where he was. So he has good muscle memory, so it comes back. The
first week or so there was hard; he was sore and stuff but it's definitely come
back. And his aggression, his passion is still there,” said Fortune last week. “He's
happy; he's punching well; he's training hard. The knockout will come, even if
he doesn't look for it - it will come.”
It will take a very good
version of Pacquiao to defeat the crafty Bradley, who has become one of the
most accomplished fighters in the sport. But of course, the consensus is he's
already done that. The overwhelming majority of observers believe that
Pacquiao, not Bradley, should've had his hands raised in victory back in June
of 2012.
Including himself.
“After the bell for the 12th round, I thought I won the fight,” admitted Pacquiao as he continued to wrap
his hands.” Did he think he won easily?
“Yeah.”
As the scorecards were being
read that night, it was hard to imagine what was about to occur.
“When I heard the announcement of the second judge, I said, ‘Oh, what's
happening?’” recalled Pacquiao. And as the final card was announced for
Bradley, a stunned worldwide audience shrieked. Many were outraged. As for the
aggrieved party? “I was just smiling. This is boxing.”
Surely he had to be pissed
off; right?
“I'm just surprised. I'm not
angry,” said the man who seems to have the patience and understanding of Job.
Make no doubt about this;
while he dipped his toe back in against the carefully hand-picked Rios, he's in
much deeper versus the “Desert Storm.” In many ways, this is a referendum not
just on Pacquiao's future but his present. When you ask him how much longer he
plans on being in this racket, he says, “A couple more years, I'm only 35 now,
so I can still fight.”
Does Pacquiao still consider
himself among the pugilistic elite? His answer is characteristically short and
sweet: “Yes, I believe that and the people will get that.”
KILLER INSTINCT
The term “killer instinct”
has served as the buzzwords for this promotion. But given how Pacquiao's overexuberance
led to getting knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth contest, how
does Roach reconcile that result with his own belief that his fighter is better
off pressing the gas pedal and never letting up?
“I just remind him that the
thing is, ‘You tell me that you want to give the fans what they want and what
they want is knockouts,’ He actually agreed with me on that because we had a
little discussion about what the fans really want,” said Roach. “So I said to
him, ‘Manny, people love it when you're knocking people out and that's what
made you the star you are and when you hurt these people, you can't give them
the opportunity to go more rounds because they might get lucky and knock you out
like Marquez. Knock Marquez out a round earlier, there would be no questions.’
“So the thing is, you can't
just keep letting these guys off the hook.”
FIGHT NIGHT
Perhaps it's not saying much
but this past Friday night's card on the NBC Sports Network from Philadelphia
was the year’s best televised card thus far. Middleweight contender Curtis
Stevens had to rally late to score a controversial stoppage over the talented
Tureano Johnson in the 10th and final round. Then Steve Cunningham
had to get off the canvas twice in the fifth round to decision the raw-but-hard-punching
Amir Mansour over 10 frames.
It was exciting,
controversial and, most of all, entertaining. All in all, an enjoyable night.
Stevens needed a KO to win
this fight and that's exactly what he got with less than a minute to go after
shaking Johnson with a left hook. Now this stoppage wasn't without controversy
as it seemed that referee Gary Rosato stepped in prematurely. Just my opinion,
Johnson had more than earned the right to see if he could weather the storm for
another split-second or two and while some will reference the tragic events
between Magomed Abdusalamov and Mike Perez, that fight was one in which Magomed
had taken a sustained beating. Here, Johnson had controlled much of the action.
Not every (non)stoppage is the same - nor should they be.
As for “USS” Cunningham, you
can question his size or his punch resistance but you can never question his
heart or constitution. At just 206 pounds, he'll always be an undersized
heavyweight (at least for this modern era) but while you can hurt him, you
can't necessarily sink this battleship. Like the Liberty Bell, Cunningham cracked
but he never broke - and he captured the USBA heavyweight title in the process.
There were no real losers on
this night. It was the rare show in which you came away wanting to see all four
participants again - and soon - on television. With a budget that is a fraction
of a fraction of what the premium cable networks spend on their shows, Main
Events and NBC Sports Network simply staged a great show. It's another example
of that it’s never enough to spend big on marquee names; match-ups and matchmaking
are absolutely just as vital.
FINAL FLURRIES
A bout between middleweights
Matthew Macklin and Daniel Geale will accompany the heavyweight bout between
Bryant Jennings and Mike Perez on May 24th on HBO...PR Best Boxing
Promotions announced over the weekend that Rocky Martinez is ill and has been
pulled from his fight against Ray Beltran on the Pacquiao-Bradley undercard.
Martinez has been replaced by Arash Usmanee...Vic Darchinyan will face WBA
featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters on May 31st in Macao, China...How
bout dem “Cardiac Cats” of John Calipari?...“Game of Thrones” is back. All is
good in the world…
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