Pacman revs up training sans Roach

MANILA, Philippines - The absence of Freddie Roach will not force Manny Pacquiao to slow down in his training for the May 2 showdown with Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas.

Roach left Los Angeles for England the other day to be in the corner of Amir Khan who faces Marco Antonio Barrera on March 14 at the MEN Arena.

It’s not the first time that Roach skipped a few days while Pacquiao trained. But it never really mattered as the Filipino superstar went on the way he should.

Roach will be back the day after Khan’s fight, and by then Pacquiao should be ready to begin sparring on March 17 and until the week before the Hatton fight.

In Roach’s absence, Buboy Fernandez ably filled in the slot, along with Eric Brown and the newest trainer at Wild Card –  heavyweight Michael Moorer.

According to Dr. Ed dela Vega of philboxing.com, Pacquiao did his routine workout, and hardly showed any sign of slowing down as he did six rounds with Fernandez on the mitts.

“Of course, it is different if Pacquiao does the mitts with Roach, but Buboy did not disappoint. He was at his best and on top of the game. And, he showed that for the whole six rounds he did with Pacquiao today,” said Dela Vega.

Meanwhile, The Sweet Science reported that Floyd Mayweather Jr., the most sought after among all retired boxers, was seen at his own Las Vegas gym and even went sparring.

The Mayweather sighting further raised speculations that he is ready to return to boxing.

Mayweather, who was undefeated when he retired last year, is being challenged by Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley to come out of retirement.

He was also in Pacquaio’s radar for some time but recently Roach said they’re no longer looking at the flamboyant American, saying his ward may not look good even if he beats Mayweather.

Instead, word coming out of Team Pacquiao is that they’re looking at Miguel Cotto as the next opponent. – Abac Cordero