Saturday, October 13, 2007 Sayson: How a therapist got Manny’s groove back By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
CHICAGO – Making weight at 130 pounds used to be easy as drinking water for Manny Pacquiao, sure like a woman’s tears on wedding day.
But a different script played out on the eve of his rematch against Marco Antonio Barrera. Manny struggled at the scales, appearing gaunt and morbidly arid during the official weigh-in.
Pacquiao is a notoriously fast starter. He fights as though a taxicab with a running meter is waiting for him outside the arena. He jumps at his foes like they’re something good to eat.
Not this time, though. Manny was dry as a prune prior during the weigh-in, thus the slow pace in his Oct.6 duel, a ploy that allowed him to conserve energy and avoid a disastrous meltdown at the Mandalay Bay.
In their first tiff in Nov. 2003, Pacman devoured Barrera with violent ease, knocking the Mexican down and around, before delivering the coup de grace in Round 11.
But in a rematch where Barrera often retreated, sometimes inducing yawns in between rounds, Pacquiao labored for 12 rounds to earn a unanimous decision. He looked unspectacular at times, tired on occasion, and his punches lacked the snap that had kayoed so many pretenders.
Clearly, it was Mini Manny or Manny Lite in action.
It was a task sending Barrera to pasture, but the bigger battle was making weight.
But thanks to Jeff De Guzman, Pacquiao triumphed at the scales. The pound-for-pound king lost the unwanted weight, without losing much of his stamina and vaunted power.
Jeff De Guzman is a physical therapist with expertise in sports medicine. He is also a respiratory therapist, 33 years young, and one of Glendale, California’s most eligible bachelors.
In the immediate aftermath of Pacquiao’s latest triumph, De Guzman was seen hoisting our national hero, a portrait immortalized by one of Philboxing.com’s dazzling array of masterpiece photographs.
A thread at Philboxing.com suggested that Jeff sneaked his way through the ring for a photo-op.
No, he didn’t. Bob Arum facilitated for De Guzman to have credentials that allowed entry to the ring. And no, it wasn’t a photo-op. Just a spontaneous burst of joy and relief after a stressful few days.
After the fight, in the comfort of his suite at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, Pacquiao, in grateful appreciation of his efforts, offered De Guzman a wad of cash. But the physical therapist politely declined.
“I don’t need it. I’m just very happy to be able help Manny,” said Jeff, the grandson of Cavite’s former mayor. “And besides,” he quips, “I made a tidy sum, a few thousand dollars, betting on Manny.”
Manny’s woes began on Monday, Oct. 1, when Manny arrived in Las Vegas weighing 134 pounds, Jeff recalls.
Had Pacquiao weighed only 132, he would have needed to shed just half a pound a day for four days and breeze through the weigh-in on Friday.
That wasn’t the case.
Pacquiao woke up 131 pounds on Friday. And with the weigh-in just hours away, he had to be steamed, working the treadmill like a maniac.
By so doing, however, Manny was lost too much moisture, too soon. He was at risk of “electrolytes imbalance, where his intra-cellular muscles could turn dangerously dry,” De Guzman explained.
That’s when Jeff’s expertise came in handy. He made sure Manny had something little to eat every 30 minutes, like an apple, which would help stabilize the sugar and potassium levels in his body.
The rest, as they say, is history.
De Guzman started helping Manny out in the Pacquiao-Morales I fight. He has since been a valuable asset of Team Pacquiao.
But his labor of love doesn’t stop there. He also helps out Gerry Penalosa, Bernabe Concepcion, Jimrix Jaca and AJ Banal of the ALA stable.
He gives Pinoy boxers helpful health and exercise tips, provides them with extra equipment such as wrapping tape and the like, small things that help fighters in big ways.
Life returned to normal for Jeff this week. He’s back in his usual routine, driving his Mercedes Benz around California for patient visitations. Normal for now. Until Team Pacman comes calling.
