PACQUIAO SPARS FIVE ROUNDS, LOOKS FANTASTIC

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 31 Jan 2010

In the eyes of conditioning expert Alex Ariza, pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao can do no wrong when he trains for a fight.

On his second day of sparring at the Wild Card Gym of multi-titled trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao went three rounds with a former sparring mate who helped him prepare for the Ricky Hatton fight but whose name Ariza couldn’t recall although he said he was undefeated with a record of 11-0 and two rounds with Brian Brooks who took another beating and is likely to be replaced.

Ariza said the workout “went real well and Manny was fantastic.” He said the black kid who went three rounds with Pacquiao was good but “Manny looked phenomenal.”

Ariza said Pacquiao “is just on top of his game really and this is only the first week.”

Meantime Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told us he and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and the $1.2 billion state-of-the-art stadium where Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Ghana’s Joshua Clottey will fly to Mexico City and Monterrey to promote “The Event” since there are several Mexican fighters on the card.

Arum said they will have a huge press conference to promote the undercard which will feature Jose Luis Castillo against Alfonso Gomez and former world champion Antonio Margarito who makes a comeback after serving a one year suspension by the California Athletic Commission for loaded hand-wraps in his fight against Miguel Cotto.

Margarito will fight American Carson Jones while Irish middleweight John Duddy will also see action on the card.

Arum also indicated that Clottey would return to the US from Accrta, Ghana on Tuesday to resume training and should his trainer not get his US visa renewed Clottey would have to work with a new trainer from the US.

Arum didn’t wish to talk about the reported May 1 clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Sugar Shane Mosley indicating he would go ahead with his plans for Pacquiao and not worry about what Golden Boy Promotions or the Mayweather camp say or do.

Source: PhilBoxing.com