Pacquiao readies killer punch
LOS ANGELES - Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach spent Friday's workout detailing the moves the Filipino fighter must unleash when he trades power blows with Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 in Dallas. But because an HBO crew was present at the Wild Card Boxing Club to document their every move on camera and on microphone for the highly-popular 24/7 series, Roach had to go the extra mile in telling Pacquiao what he wants him to do exactly on fight night at Cowboys Stadium. "Turn off the microphone," hollered Roach to the HBO guys as he leaned over Pacquiao and mumbled something to his ear. Pacquiao nodded and then it was his turn to whisper something to Roach, who smiled back, a sign that they were on the same page. So Pacquiao and Roach used a great chunk of time during the 13-round punch mitts session exchanging notes over the strategy to be applied against the rampaging Margarito. While the conversation was hardly audible, it was clear that Roach wants Pacquiao to prevent Margarito from dictating the tempo of the scheduled 12-round world super-welterweight title match. In addition to what Roach wants him to do, Pacquiao also suggested some things that he feels will help them during the fight and it involved the use of one certain punch that the southpaw said will play a crucial role. As Pacquiao continues to make heads turn in his training stint here, a key member of his training team expressed delight in seeing that the fighter is indeed back on track. "Manny's not getting tired anymore in training," said Nonoy Neri, who also acts as the cook of Team Pacquiao. Meanwhile, Pacquiao beefed up his fleet of cars here with the addition of a Toyota Landcruiser V8 that retails at $80,000. The SUV was a donation of Toyota Glendale, whose big boss Harlan Gittin was present to hand over the vehicle to Pacquiao at the driveway of the Wild Card. Aside from the gray-colored SUV, Gittin also donated $10,000 to the Manny Pacquiao Foundation. Gittin said Pacquiao will become a spokesperson for Toyota Glendale since the dealership "is a good part of the Filipino community." "We are actually donating a part to his charity for every car sold," said Gittin, whose involvement was made possible by Pacquiao's Canadian adviser Mike Koncz. Meanwhile, Pacquiao will come in as light as a feather so he could maintain his speed and mobility come fight night against the gigantic Margarito. Just before working out Friday afternoon at the Wild Card, Pacquiao approached the scales and weighed 150 lbs, the agreed weight limit of his Nov. 13 showdown with Antonio Margarito in Dallas. But Pacquiao was still fully dressed when he tipped the scales, which meant that he was probably 148 lbs without clothes, according to conditioning coach and nutritionist Alex Ariza. Ariza said he expects Pacquiao to weigh in officially at 148 lbs, well within the range of the catch weight of 150 lbs for the scheduled 12-round world super-welterweight title match at Cowboys Stadium. And Ariza said he would try his darn best to keep Pacquiao's weight in check by the time he goes up the ring. "I don't want him to be at 150 lbs because that's not his comfortable weight," said Ariza, noting that even an extra pound could slow Pacquiao down.
Reposted From Manila Bulletin
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