Pacman braces for tough grind

Manny Pacquiao enjoyed his customary Sunday break in Los Angeles as he prepared for the hard part in training starting with the first sparring session on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) at the Wild Card Gym.

Chief trainer Freddie Roach had wanted sparring to begin last Oct. 6 but the promotional tour that took Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya to six different cities over seven days got in the way.

However, there’s really no need to rush things up since the fight, dubbed “Dream Match” and set at the 17,000-seat Garden Arena of MGM in Las Vegas, is still almost eight weeks ahead.

Pacquiao should kick off his sparring, held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with four rounds. The number gradually increases to six, eight, 10 and 12 before they taper off.

Pacquiao will spar with boxers as tall as 5-11 and probably as heavy as 160 pounds. They include Yuri Foreman, Arron Robinson, Amir Khan, Marvin Cordova and Rashad Holloway.

Pacquiao trained hard the past week, working on their game plan that focuses on attacks to the body of the 35-year-old opponent.

A strong sign that Pacquiao is going for the body is the need for Roach to wear a body protector when they work on the mitts. A picture of De la Hoya’s face is plastered right in the middle of the body gear.

Roach recently told www.insidesports.ph that the 29-year-old Pacquiao will go after De la Hoya “in the very first round.”

Roach told The STAR recently that Pacquiao would not go beyond the number of sparring rounds needed, adding that despite the longer time on the gym they just “won’t overdo things.”

Pacquiao normally does 140 to 150 rounds of sparring as he prepares for a fight and has even gone a little over for the bigger fights against Erik Morales or Juan Manuel Marquez.