Philippine Sports News and Updates

Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao finished a killer run up the steep and occasionally winding road in the heart of the new Alta Vista Subdivision next to a picturesque golf course here in Cebu and when the grueling morning workout was over, smiled broadly and said: “I feel good.”

Those around him, including trainer Freddie Roach, looked pleased with what they saw.”Manny is doing fine. Everything is where I wanted it to be,” Roach, whose opinion matters the most, told Viva Sports/Standard Today.

The thing that Roach wanted most was a quiet gym, free from distractions and crowds, who bothered Pacquiao during his workout the first two days of the week. Roach finally got what he wanted and is now enjoying the quiet gym for the last two days.

Pacquiao’s friend and confidant Rex “Wakee” Salud, who owns the RWS Gym which is small and humid, took immediate action after Roach threatened to pack his bags and go home. Salud installed tight security measures to such an extent that ABS-CBN’s Dyan Castillejo said: “You could have heard a pin drop. It was eerie compared to the other day,” when crowds swarmed the gym and reportedly even upset Pacquiao.

Pacquiao’s younger brother Bobby Pacquiao was run into the ground in the grueling uphill stretch and lingered way behind the Pacman before getting aboard one of the media vans trailing the ring warrior.

Workers building huge homes in the sprawling subdivision stopped and waved and cheered Pacquiao with shouts of “Idol! Idol!” piercing the warm morning air. A top-notch TV crew from HBO, the world renowned network for boxing, had a three-member crew headed by George Jankovic trailing Pacquiao and capturing every move and every word he uttered for a 30-minute, pre-fight documentary program to air one week before the Oct. 6 rematch with legendary Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Castillejo, who has chronicled Pacquiao’s every move in recent years, was also shooting for her “Sports Unlimited” show and the regular newscasts while Viva Sports and Viva Prime are also here shooting footage and interviews for a pre-fight, one-hour special on the top-rated weekly boxing show “The Main Event” on RPN-9. GMA-7, which is hooking up with Solar Sports to telecast Pacquiao-Barrera, had a local reporter and crew following Pacquiao.

After some furious shadowboxing, a wipe-down and a change of clothes, Pacquiao walked downhill for some distance, stopped to pick some berries from a roadside tree and savored their sweetness. He then screamed across a deep ravine to a group of workers on a hill on the opposite side and gave them a clenched fist sign, as though to tell them he was ready for Barrera.

Pacquiao’s frame of mind after some weeks of irritation over a needling press appears to have changed. His wife Jinkee arrived on the same Philippine Airlines flight with this writer on Wednesday evening along with their baby daughter Divine Grace, who will celebrate her first birthday on Oct. 1. It is Jinkee’s second visit to Cebu to show her husband she is behind him all the way.

She told Viva Sports/Standard Today that she didn’t want to bring the baby girl along, but that Pacquiao insisted he wanted to see his only daughter. Their two sons stayed behind because of school.

Pacquiao and his entourage proceeded to the residence of Salud for breakfast but Roach went straight back to the hotel to prepare for the champ’s workout at 2:30 p.m.

Roach said Pacquiao will run on flat land today and spar in the afternoon with Raymund Beltran and David Rodela while Salud also brought in two local boxers to vary things a little, especially since Rodela fell ill.

Pacquiao and Roach are scheduled to leave on Sept. 22 for Los Angeles, where Pacquiao will wind down his training at the Wild Card Gym and then taper off in Las Vegas.

HBO’s George Jakovic, a former athlete and a lifelong boxing fan, said he was surprised to see the amazing shape Pacquiao was in after reading stories that spoke of late nights, pool halls and fun times. Taking a look at Pacquiao’s workout, Jakovic said that while Barrera was a great fighter he said in his own eyes there was no way he could beat Pacquiao if this keeps up.

Source: Manila Standard Today