Friday, March 14, 2008 Arum says Pacquiao in his best shape ever; Marquez dedicates fight to countrymen
WILL Manny Pacquiao’s hard work for the past two months be enough to unseat Juan Manuel Marquez in their upcoming epic rematch? The answer is still relatively unknown until fight night on March 16 (RP time) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, but all the boxing fanatics around the world know one thing’s for sure —neither boxer will back down.
Pacquiao has trained like a machine with Freddie Roach for the past few months at the famed Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and has sparred for nearly 140 rounds.
According www.doghouseboxing.com Pacquiao’s training regimen includes running six times a week, on sparring days he runs for 35 minutes covering four to five miles while on non-sparring days Pacman runs straight uphill at Griffith Park for 48 to 52 minutes.
“Not too many words or hyperboles for this fight. I’ve heard Juan Manuel is in great shape but I have witnessed with my own eyes how Manny Pacquaio trained for this fight. If I could get a blueprint for how he trained and get all other fighters to use it, we would have great fights night after night. The conditioning is so important as his stamina and ability to withstand punishment is at his highest peak. I don’t know another fighter—and we have Pavlik and Cotto who worked hard—but I have never seen anyone prepare like Manny Pacquaio has for this fight,” Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum said in a Philboxing.com report.
Excited
In a recent column at Philboxing.com, Pacquiao said that with a couple of days left, he is very excited to finally face Marquez and has given all he can to prepare himself physically and mentally for this bout.
He said that he will force himself to get to the 130-pound weight in the days to come and added that he is at his best condition since.
Pacquiao also said that he will only look on the future and not on the past, referring to his first encounter with the Mexican which ended in a controversial draw.
The 29-year-old Filipino also vowed to change his lifestyle and focus on the things that will help his career because he isn’t getting any younger.
“I promised to myself and my family that I will gain back that fire in winning so that I can achieve more in life,” said Pacquiao in his column.
Like Pacquiao, Marquez knows his countrymen is banking on him.
“I am happy to be here for this fight and everyone watching this fight is a war. I have prepared very hard for three months. I don’t really like to talk outside the ring I do it in the ring. This fight is for my country, my people and I will win it with my heart,” Maruez said. (EKA)
