Pacquiao Begins Training At Wild Card Gym In Hollywood

ByBoxing Press

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao began his U.S. training camp today at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. Pacquiao is in his final five weeks of intense workouts as he prepares for his world title defense against undefeated junior welterweight champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley.

Pacquiao began the day with a 6:45 a.m. run from Griffith Part up the Hollywood Hills to the landmark Hollywood sign. He shaved a minute off his personal best time, running the 3.5 mile course in 22 minutes.

Later that afternoon, Pacman worked out for three hours with Roach at Wild Card, going 10 brisk rounds on the mitts followed by two hours of conditioning and hitting the bags.

Manny Pacquiao:
I saw the Mayweather-Cotto fight. It was a good fight and everyone [fans] was happy.

I have no opinion on Mayweather’s plans to retire. That’s his decision. A very personal decision I’m glad to be back at Freddie’s gym. I have no plans to retire. I still love what I’m doing Freddie and I had a good camp in the Philippines and we are ready to work very hard in preparation for Timothy Bradley. Bradley is strong, undefeated and young. I have a great deal of respect for his talents and his accomplishments.”
Freddie Roach:
We are on a steady pace to get Manny to where he will peak on June 9. We built a good base to build on in our training in the Philippines. Now it’s time for the hard work and the strategy.

We had a good session today. Manny went a strong 10 rounds with me today on the mitts. He’ll sleep good tonight.

I did not see the Mayweather-Cotto fight but I do know that Floyd’s slippery defense is now better outside the ring than inside the ring. But that is the path he has chosen.

Would Manny beat Floyd? You bet. The way to beat Floyd is to outwork him every minute of every round. Manny is the only fighter capable of executing that game plan. Activity kills Mayweather. You need to stay busy against him and not let him dictate the pace by slowing down the fight. Southpaws are his other weakness. Manny is just a bad combination for Floyd to fight. If it would bring Floyd into the ring, I’d agree to have Manny fight him right handed.

Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs), boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines, will be defending his WBO welterweight championship crown against undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif.

The Pacquiao vs. Bradley welterweight championship collision will take place Saturday, June 9, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev., and will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Tecate, AT&T and MGM Grand, remaining tickets to Pacquiao vs. Bradley are priced at $1,200, $900, $600, $400, and $200. Ticket sales at $1,200, $900, $600 and $400 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $200 are limited to two (2) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.