Pacquiao doing well in training, impresses Roach

MANILA, Philippines - Day after day, Manny Pacquiao continued to impress his chief trainer Freddie Roach as they stepped up the preparations for the big showdown against WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico.

“Freddie Roach is not only pleased. He’s amazed at how the camp is going,” said Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, Mike Koncz, yesterday after another impressive workout at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City.

Some people were let into the gym but under certain restrictions. Due to the infux of fans and media, Team Pacquiao had to close the doors to the gym the other day, but yesterday they were a little generous.

“It was a small crowd and it was a very nice crowd. Training went very well,” said Koncz, adding that Roach, who came in last Tuesday, almost can’t believe what he’s seeing in Pacquiao who’s moving like he’s been at the gym for a month now.

Koncz said no decision yet has been made whether training in the country’s summer capital would run for four weeks or even more. If it goes five weeks, then Pacquiao may skip Los Angeles and head directly to Las Vegas.

“We’re taking it one week at a time. No decision yet,” said Koncz, who earlier discussed the possibility of training five weeks in Baguio, and straight to Las Vegas for the last three weeks before the fight.

“If all goes well, then we’re staying in Baguio and skip Los Angeles totally. Besides we’re gonna lose a couple of days if we leave Baguio after four weeks, train three weeks in LA and do another week in Las Vegas,” he said.

After the first full week of training, Pacquiao takes a rest today. He might run in the morning depending on the weather but will stay away from the gym.

Koncz said Pacquiao has also decided to skip the trip to Manila for him to be at the wake of his former business manager, Rod Nazario, who died three days ago after a yearlong battle with lung cancer.

“The decision was made the other day. For a number of reasons, he decided not to come to Manila anymore, and focus on his training. We’re sure the Nazario family would understand,” said Koncz.

The very bad weather should also keep Pacquiao up in Baguio since it would be quite dangerous for him to take a private plane out or take the five-hour trip by land.

Meanwhile, HBO has announced that the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez fight at the MGM Grand last Sunday drew a remarkable pay-per-view sales of one million.

The number exceeded expectations of PPV sales of 600,000 to 700,000 and turned in sales of $52 million. It also meant that Mayweather, who came out of retirement to beat Marquez, remains a very hot commodity.

Pacquiao’s fight with Oscar dela Hoya last December drew 1.25 million buys and the one against Ricky Hatton last May came in with 900,000 hits.

“I am truly humbled by the numbers, and I appreciate all of the sports fans who either came to the fight or bought it on pay-per-view. It felt great to be back in the ring and next time I will be even better,” said Mayweather in an ESPN.com report.

Mayweather still holds of the record PPV sales of 2.44 million buys in his 2005 split decision victory over Dela Hoya, and all these numbers he could use if ever he lands on the negotiating table with Pacquiao next year.