Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Manny hits LA, is ready for war By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
CARRYING anew the hopes of the entire Filipino nation in his broad shoulders, Manny Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles Saturday night to embark on another compelling mission and that is to keep his place on top of the boxing world.
Philboxing.com reported that Pacquiao arrived at the LAX with trainers Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez, and the rest of Team Pacquiao. The entourage was met at the airport by several Filipino fans and officials.
Pacquiao was looking good and in high spirits, according to Philboxing.com, despite the 10-hour flight from Manila.
Sunday was supposed to be rest day for Pacquiao to shake off jetlag, but the Filipino punching machine from General Santos City planned to immediately resume training with a jog at the Griffith Park.
On Monday, Pacquiao will take a rest, but he will resume training again Tuesday at the Wild Card Gym as part of his final preparation for the highly awaited October 6 rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera.
The 12-round super featherweight encounter will be staged at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 28-year-old Pacquiao trained in Cebu for this fight and has logged more than 100 rounds of sparring at the RWS Gym of Rex "Wakee" Salud.
Roach, Pacquiao's famed American trainer, had declared his ward fit and ready against the tough Barrera, whom the Filipino annihilated via an 11th-round TKO in November of 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.
Pacquiao left the country for LA in the early part of August but rushed back to the Philippines and decided to train in Cebu.
This prompted Roach to go scurrying to Cebu and supervising Pacquiao's training himself amid a daily horde of fans at the RWS Gym.
The American trainer eventually imposed a closed-door training for Pacquiao after sensing that the growing number of fans trooping to the gym had caused a distraction to the Filipino's workout.
