Happy Manny ready to make history

By Francis Thimsel J. Ochoa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:01:00 11/07/2009

HOLLYWOOD— He's fit, he's happy HOLLYWOOD— He's fit, he's happy and he's on track to logging the targeted number of sparring rounds and, most of all, he isn’t planning to hide behind a wall of excuses no matter how the fight turns out.and he's on track to logging the targeted number of sparring rounds and, most of all, he isn’t planning to hide behind a wall of excuses no matter how the fight turns out.

Because in Manny Pacquiao’s mind, there’s only going to be one outcome when he squares off with Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where he will be gunning for the Puerto Rican’s WBO welterweight title.

“I’m ready,” said the Filipino ring icon.

Pacquiao is hunting for a world crown in an unprecedented seventh weight class but is already generally regarded as boxing’s pound-for-pound king. And royalty doesn’t seek indulgences.

“There’ll be no excuses for this fight,” he vowed. “I’ve trained hard and I know I’m strong enough to fight for 12 rounds.”

Pacquiao sparred six rounds Thursday afternoon behind the barricaded doors of the Wild Card gym and, judging by his demeanor during shadow boxing and cool-down routines, he is on track to cementing his title as the sport’s best across weight borders.

“He’s happy, he’s in a good mood and we’re right on schedule,” said trainer Freddie Roach, who believes Pacquiao (37-3-2, 37 KOs) won’t need the full 12 rounds to strip the 29-year-old Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) of his title.

Pacquiao has now sparred 144 rounds, just about his regular dose of simulated fights when preparing for real matches. And though he toyed around with Urbano Antillon and Ray Beltran Thursday, he showed Roach what he could do once he got serious.

“He played a little bit sometimes, but when he wanted to turn it on, his form was there,” Roach said.

Pacquiao is scheduled for a long roadwork and more gym training Friday and six more rounds of sparring on Saturday before making the road trip to the Nevada hotspot on Monday.

Every now and then during Thursday’s training, Pacquiao would stop to flex his muscles in front of the mirror and hold his pose for the cameras, showing off a well-chiseled body that he proudly calls “a product of my hard work.”

And as far as strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza is concerned, Pacquiao has the body of a beast.

“He’s literally pure muscle,” Ariza said, adding that the fighter’s body fat is now at 6.2 percent. To illustrate how fit Pacquiao is, Ariza said that normally, a “superb athlete has a body fat of 8 percent.”

“He can obviously handle the added weight and the added size without losing his speed or strength,” Ariza said.

Pacquiao weighed 149 pounds Thursday, although Ariza said the Pacman drops to 146 after every workout. He added that Pacquiao will easily meet the catch weight of 145 in the morning of the weigh-in, just after eating breakfast, and that there will be no need for weight-loss cramming.

“That way, he’s happy and he’s in a good mood,” Ariza said. “Fighting on an empty stomach is delicate for a fighter because it will upset him.”

Ariza said Pacquiao would climb the ring at 149 lb, which is the Filipino’s “meanest fighting weight.”

Since losing to Erik Morales via unanimous decision four years ago, Pacquiao has racked up 10 straight victories. Three of his last four wins won for the General Santos City southpaw titles in three weight classes—super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight.

The only non-title victory he had was his eight-round demolition of legend Oscar De La Hoya, a match that, in a session with foreign journalists, Pacquiao referred to as his biggest match.

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/professional/professional/view/20091107-234703/Happy-Manny-ready-to-make--history