Philippine Sports News and Updates

Los Angeles -- There was no evident alarm but reports that Manny Pacquiao has gone down with the flu yesterday sent people at the Wild Card gym here wondering why the Filipino boxing superstar should take unnecessary risks in training at home for his monumental rematch against Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera on Oct. 6.

Pacquiao was forced to skip sparring on Friday after being downed by the flu virus, but he should be back on the road Monday, according to trainer Freddie Roach.

Roach on Tuesday threatened to bolt Pacquiao’s training site in Cebu City due to the failure of gym managers to control fanatical spectators.

Although Roach had earlier admitted they were already a week behind schedule, the famous trainer assured media men there should be no problem despite the latest hitch.

But Ola Afolabi, a Roach deputy who was tipped to take over as Pacquiao’s conditioning coach, yesterday told the Inquirer there’s always the danger of new problems cropping up.

“First, there was the unruly crowd, now the flu, this is the reason I said Manny should be here instead of there,” Afolabi, a former welterweight pro, explained.

One of Pacquiao’s two Mexican sparmates has reportedly also contracted the flu virus, said to be prevalent in the Cebu area.

“The weather here may be terribly hot now, but it’s at least constant, unlike out there,” he added.

Eric Brown, another Roach deputy, was absent yesterday but he earlier said it was ridiculous that Pacquiao continued to take risks training in the Philippines when it has been proven that Wild Card was perfect for him.

Two Filipino trainers here, who requested anonymity, agreed with the observations of Roach’s two deputies, adding they would not be surprised if Pacquiao returns here earlier than the original Sept. 22 schedule.

Actually, Roach hinted the other day that Pacquiao, an indefatigable hard worker, could be a little ahead in conditioning.

But although Roach would not say how many hours they had squandered with Pacquiao’s illness, the sorry development cannot escape the Barrera camp where everything is reported to be going smoothly.

“Manny could be stalled four or five days at most,” Afolabi said.

However, the rangy former pro from Nigeria said Pacquiao should be able to catch up and “he would be OK if he comes back here early.”

Source: Inquirer.net