Sparmates dish out tough grind vs Manny

MANILA, Philippines - Three sparmates were flown in to sharpen WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao for his title defense against unbeaten challenger Chris Algieri in Macau on Nov. 23 and they’re earning every dollar of their pay in taking turns to keep the Filipino icon busy in General Santos City.

The sparring squad is composed of 6-0 Mike Jones, 31, 5-11 Viktor Postol, 30, and 5-10 Stan Martyniouk, 20. They’re tall and rangy like the 5-10 Algieri who has a 72-inch wingspan or five more than Pacquiao’s.

Last Thursday, Pacquiao sparred three blistering rounds with Jones, Postol and Martyniouk in that order. Trainer Freddie Roach instructed Pacquiao to work on his combinations and the sparmates never took a step back in holding their ground. It was a grueling grind for Pacquiao who had to sustain his level of intensity against fresh, alternating sparmates. But after going nine rounds, Pacquiao still had a lot of gas left in his tank to work the heavy bag for three rounds, the speedball for three rounds and the mitts for eight rounds. He also did 10 minutes of uninterrupted jump rope, three rounds of shadow boxing, ladder drills and abs exercises. Pacquiao never ran out of wind.

Jones said it’s a blessing to work with Pacquiao. “I’m learning a lot from one of the best in the world,” said the Philadelphian who started his pro career with 26 straight wins, 19 by KO. “He builds up your confidence. It’s a great opportunity to spar with a fighter like Manny. I’m grateful for the chance. He’s quick and strong. I try to be competitive with him.”

Jones said there’s no way Algieri will beat Pacquiao. “I expect Algieri to run,” he said. “Manny will bang the body to slow him down then he’ll take him out. That’s the way I see it ending. I don’t think Algieri has the tools to beat Manny.”

In June 2012, Jones battled veteran Randall Bailey for the vacant IBF welterweight crown and lost by knockout in the 11th round. He took a 26-month layoff and came back to surrender to Jaime Herrera in the seventh round last August. “I’ve had to contend with a business problem,” he said. “I’m looking for a good promoter and manager right now. I’m determined to get back on track. Manny’s inspiring me to fight on and sparring with him is preparing me for bigger things.”

Martyniouk said he’s doing his best impersonation of Algieri. “My job is to fight like Algieri and get Manny ready to beat him,” he said. “I want to make Manny think in the ring. I don’t know if I resemble Algieri’s style the most among us sparmates but I’m in there to make Manny work. That’s what I’m paid to do.”

Martyniouk was born in Estonia and was only five when his family migrated to Canada before eventually settling in Sacramento. He’s never been back to Estonia although he went to Moscow to fight for the US at the 2005 AIBA World Cup. Martyniouk speaks Russian and is Postol’s interpreter. Postol, who is Ukrainian, hardly speaks English.

Like Jones, Martyniouk is in search of a promoter or manager to guide his career. He turned pro in 2007 and didn’t even fight in 2011. Last August, he lost a split eight-round decision to Ivan Najera in Glendale after a one-year layoff from outpointing former Pacquiao sparmate David Rodela. Martyniouk said he was robbed of a victory over Najera. In sparring, he throws flurries, moves around in shifting directions and tries to outsmart Pacquiao. 

Postol has the most impressive credentials of the sparmates. His record is 26-0 with 11 KOs and he’s in line for a world title shot. Pacquiao’s conditioning coach Justin Fortune said without hesitation that Postol will beat Algieri if ever they meet.

“Viktor’s a pure boxer,” said Fortune. “The three sparmates give Manny different looks even if they’re all tall like Algieri. Viktor’s a stand-up fighter. Stan’s a come-forward fighter who’s very busy. Mike’s extremely tall at six feet and Manny has to go under to land. Mike’s strong, probably the strongest of the three so each one is special. Manny has to work really hard every time he spars with those guys.”

The sparmates said they’re enjoying their stay and the warm weather in General Santos City. They’re billeted at the six-storey Greenleaf Hotel which has 111 rooms and suites. The gym where Pacquiao trains is loaded with fighters and trainers every day. Among the fighters sharpening up are former WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco who takes on Jessie Vargas for the WBA lightwelterweight title in the Pacquiao-Algieri undercard, former IBF supermiddleweight champion Lucian Bute of Romania, cruiserweight Israel Duffus of Panama, WBA No. 5 welterweight Teerechai Kratingdaeng Gym of Thailand, Filipino bantamweight Drian Francisco and Filipino welterweight Dan Nazareno. The trainers include brothers Buboy and Haplas Fernandez and Nonoy Neri of Team Pacquiao, brothers Dodie Boy and Jonathan Peñalosa and Jun Bubuli.