RP training for Pacquiao ruled out

WASHINGTON, D.C.: After considerable indecision on the venue and timing of his training camp, Manny Pacquiao will start training September 15 for his Miguel Cotto super fight, most likely in Toluca, Mexico.

Pacquiao’s trainer Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions ruled out Pacquiao training in the Philippines because that could upset his preparation for what could be the Filipino’s toughest fight.

Arum told Michael Marley of Examiner.com Monday night that Team Pacquaio has also ruled out the Bahamas and the Mexican resort city of Cancun because they are “too flat.”

Marley surmised that this leaves the Toluca mountains, close to Mexico City, as the likely venue for Pacquiao’s training facility.

Ideal for training

Nestled about 8,750 feet above sea level, Toluca—some 2,000 miles from Los Angeles, California—is known for its cool and humid summer weather which is ideal for boxing training camps.

Pacquiao’s training has always included early morning runs on hilly terrain to build up his endurance and stamina.

Pacquiao’s renowned trainer Freddie Roach earlier said training in the Philippines would be a “mistake because Manny could never focus on training in his country where so many people want a piece of him.”

Roach said he personally preferred either Toluca or Puerto Vallarta in Mexico because of the mild weather and their proximity to California and Las Vegas.

Roach said that Pacquiao will spend the final three weeks of his projected eight-week training camp at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California for two weeks, and the final week in Las Vegas.

Toluca, the capital of Mexico State is about 65 miles from Mexico City, the federation’s capital. Located in the mountains of Toluca Valley, the place offers pleasant summer weather.

Last week, Roach blew his top last week over Pacquiao’s indecision on the timing and venue of his training camp.

Tough Cotto fight

Roach underscored the need for focused preparation by Pacquiao against Cotto, 28, a big and strong 147- pounder, who has beaten the likes of Shane Mosley, a fast-fisted puncher boxer just like Pacquiao.

“[Cotto] nullified Shane’s speed with his own speed. People tell me he’s slow, but I disagree. He’s a tough, tough fight for us,” Roach told FightHype.com. “I hope that Manny and his crew wake up and smell the coffee and get to work of picking a place so we can go to camp as soon as possible.”

But Arum said he is “not panicking” about Pacquiao’s preparation for the Filipino’s title shot at Cotto’s World Boxing Organization welterweight championship belt, although he admitted time was “really tight” for his prized fighter.

“I know Manny, we spoke this morning. I gave him the bad news [about the death of] Freddie’s younger brother, Joey, and Manny was really shaken up,” Arum said. “He later reached out to Freddie to express his condolences. Manny was totally unaware of it. He’d been shooting a movie or a TV show or something like that.”

Arum said he shared Roach’s concern about setting up training camp in the Philippines because of its too many distractions for the country’s most popular athlete.

Unlike Pacquiao, Cotto started light training as early as the first week of August before embarking on an 11-week training camp in Puerto Rico and winding up in Tampa, Florida.

The venue for training was never an issue in most of the major fights of Pacquiao, who normally trained at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

But under a regulation of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Pacquiao stands to pay millions in additional taxes if he holds his entire training camp for the November 14 fight with Cotto on American soil.

Under the IRS Substantial Presence Test, Pacquiao has nearly reached the limit of his maximum allowable stay in the US for non-US residents.

This means that if Pacquiao stays and trains in the US for more than three weeks for the remainder of this year, he would be subject to higher taxes since all his sources of income worldwide would be subject to tax.

Source: manilatimes.net