Roach, Khan to keep close watch over Pacquiaohttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=39194

By BONG PEDRALVEZ, The Manila Times Subeditor

While training in Los Angeles for his July 2 fight against Mexican upstart Oscar Larios, Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao will be under close watch, literally.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s American trainer, will be living in his ward’s apartment for the duration of the boxer’s intensive workouts, which will now be exclusively done in Los Angeles, the fighter's co-manager Nick Khan said Wednesday.

"Freddie will be living with Manny at Manny’s apartment and my home is about a mile away," Khan said in an e-mail message to The Times.

"As you know, Freddie is not one for late nights so it should be an intense and productive [training] camp," added Khan, implying that the American management team was aware what Pacquiao had been doing while he was back home.

Khan said the Filipino prizefighter had arrived late Monday (Tuesday morning in Manila) and then went to Roach’s Wild Card gym to meet the trainer the next day.

"Manny went running this morning (Wednesday) with Freddie’s co-trainer and conditioning coach Justin Fortune," Khan said.

He said Pacquiao and his entourage would be leaving the United States around June 20 and arriving in the Philippines on June 22, or 10 days before the "Mano-a-Mano" showdown at the Araneta Coliseum.

A press release issued by Pacquiao’s camp Thursday said that Roach had decided to skip the Baguio training to avoid "too many adjustments on altitude training for the Filipino boxing idol."

"It’s sometimes dangerous to consider altitude training and we will rather focus our training here in Los Angeles," said Roach, who has been outspoken about Pacquiao’s "many distractions" in the country.

The trainer said his charge will have two Russian and two Mexican sparring mates in Manila when "PacMan" comes back home and tapers off.

Roach was confident that the Filipino boxing icon would be prepared for his tune-up match against Larios for his much-awaited third clash with Erik Morales in November.

"Manny is the best athlete I’ve trained," he said. "When he trains, he is completely focused, goes all-out and you can immediately see the complete change in him miles away. We have a very strong connection and we understand each other very easily."

A former World Boxing Council super bantamweight kingpin, Larios continues his tough grind for the fight at the Juan Magdalena gym in Guadalajara, running at least two hours in the morning, mostly with neighborhood kids who consider the former Mexican champion their hero.

A former marathon runner, Larios usually jogs with his trainer Eddie Reynoso and his trainer’s father Jose. At night, he does weight training and walks with the neighborhood kids on the way home.

Larios will stay in Guadalajara up to May and will leave for Japan in June to step up his training at the Teiken gym, owned by Akihiro Honda, a business partner of Rafael Mendoza, Larios’ manager.