Pacman still thrives despite stormy weather

BAGUIO CITY — The stormy weather here may have eaten out a chunk of Manny Pacquiao’s road work, but conditioning coach Alex Ariza believes that it may have done the Filipino ring icon good.

Pacquiao, according to Ariza, was at least forced to slow down.

“It did him good; We had some breaks in the morning and we were able to rest a bit,” said Ariza. “In the beginning of his training here, he was overdoing it. Last week, he was able to relax.”

As in past training camps, one of the toughest things to do is to get Pacquiao to taper off from his noted beastly workouts.

The Pacman, who is preparing for a super bout against Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas, hasn’t been taking it easy in sparring, however.

On Tuesday, Pacquiao sparred with highly touted former two-time world lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo for three rounds, dominating the Mexican thoroughly. The Filipino sensation then wrapped up his day’s session with a four-round confrontasi opposite American Shawn Porter.

“I’m starting to get in better shape,” Pacquiao told the Inquirer in Filipino. “Even if I haven’t been able to run, at least, I’m starting to swim and I’ve been trying the treadmill.”

In his anticipated sparring with Castillo, Pacquiao used his vastly improved lateral movements in trying to avoid the Mexican’s uppercuts and body shots. Pacquiao stalled Castillo’s aggressive attacks with three to five punch combos and counter left straights.

The 35-year-old Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KOs) ended his first day of sparring with specks of blood on his left nostril.

“I can’t see his left. It’s very fast and strong. I think that will be a big problem of Cotto,” Castillo told the Inquirer.

Source: inquirer.net