Manny Pacquiao skipped training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood yesterday. Instead, the Pinoy boxing superstar traveled to Las Vegas for an important meeting with his promoter, Bob Arum.
Trainer Freddie Roach didn’t sound disturbed when he said the start of training for the Dec. 6 “Dream Match” with Oscar dela Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas will have to wait another day.
“Manny had to sit down with Bob so we called it off. We can start tomorrow instead,” said Roach over the phone.
“We still have enough time. We have 10 weeks. No problem,” he said.
Roach added that the first two weeks of training would focus on the conditioning, keeping Pacquiao in the groove and getting a few pounds off with still 80 days before the fight.
Training means a 30-minute run in the morning and a two-hour workout at the gym in the afternoon. Pacquiao should begin working on his abdominal muscles, too, with a thousand crunches a day.
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles Sunday evening, weighing 154 pounds or so. His fight with Dela Hoya is pegged at 147 pounds although the Pinoy icon said he might weigh in at 145.
Pacquiao said the other day he planned to start training yesterday, but the meeting with Arum came up, and, according to Roach he had no choice but travel to Las Vegas.
Pacquiao went to Sin City with his legal counsel Franklin Gacal.
But once the training starts, Roach said there’s no stopping them.
Roach said the promo tour starts Oct. 1. It will be a whirlwind tour that would take the fighters to New York for the kickoff leg at the Statue of Liberty, then Chicago, Houston, San Antonio and back to California.
Even when they’re away, Roach said training would continue.
“I’ve arranged with Bob Arum for him to make sure we’ll have a gym to work on during each stop. We’ll train everyday, wherever we are,” said Roach as he manned the front desk of his Wild Card Gym.