'Totally ready' Manny hits Dallas in style

DALLAS – Manny Pacquiao went out for a run on a cold, damp Monday morning, sparred four rounds in the afternoon then closed the book on his training at the Wild Card Gym.

By 10 in the evening (Dallas time being two hours ahead of Los Angeles), he was inside his suite at the Gaylord Texan Hotel. It’s fight week, and in just a few days, it’s fight time.

“Totally ready na tayo sa fight,” said Pacquiao, who took a chartered two-and-a-half-hour flight from LAX to this city known for its great barbecue and as home of the Cowboys.

Pacquiao’s chief trainer, Freddie Roach, has put the writings on the wall that Pacquiao is all set to face Antonio Margarito this coming Saturday and score a big knockout.

Pacquiao said he can’t doubt what Roach said.

“Hindi naman magsi-sinungaling ‘yan eh. Siya ang mapapahiya at tayo (He won’t lie because he’s putting his name and ours on the line),” said the Filipino icon.

“The hard work’s done. He knows how to win this fight,” Roach said the other day.

Pacquiao’s delegation of 188 packed a Boeing 757, which the boxer rented for more than $100,000, and outnumbered his entourage of 140 for the Joshua Clottey fight last March.

On board the plane were Pacquiao’s immediate family, his team members, fellow boxers Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Gerry Peñalosa, some mediamen and a lot of friends.

The size of Pacquiao’s entourage that flew out of LA before 5 p.m. is almost the size of 10 baseball teams.

From the plane, which never ran out of food courtesy of Goldilock’s, Pacquiao, with his wife Jinkee, was whisked to a waiting SUV that brought them to his official home for the fight.

The rest filled four buses that waited at the tarmac.

Prior to boarding, everybody went through a thorough security check, and handheld metal detectors were used. Only Pacquiao and his wife were spared from the routine check.

Earlier in the morning, Pacquiao went out for a run. It was cold and damp following a steady drizzle Sunday evening, and a big drop in the temperature in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao covered the Griffith Park, a roller-coaster route which he normally challenges on non-sparring days. But he wanted a good run to wrap up his training in LA.

Then he sparred four rounds against Dave Rodela, worked the bags like there’s no tomorrow, and shadow-boxed like he was surrounded by a dozen opponents.

He kept on asking for more from Roach, who had to ask Nonoy Neri to pull the reins on the world’s greatest boxer today.

“Kailangan kasi ready tayo sa lahat ng puwedeng mangyari sa ring (We must be ready for anything that might happen in the ring),” said Pacquiao.

Fight week includes a public workout for Margarito and Pacquiao Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) starting at 1 p.m. at the Longhorn Exhibit Hall of the Gaylord Texan Hotel.

Wednesday is the day for the final press conference, Thursday for the round-table discussions among the media and the trainers of both boxers, and Friday for the official weigh-in.

Roach said he was informed that the weigh-in, for the catchweight of 150 lb, will start at 5 p.m.