Pacquiao satisfied with first sparring day

MANILA, Philippines – For Manny Pacquiao, nothing feels better than lacing it up and getting it on in sparring.

The Filipino icon, stepping up the gas in his training for his megabuck showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr., started sparring Wednesday at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. He went five rounds with a couple of sparmates.

Pacquiao said he was elated with the workout.

"After 13 days of strength and conditioning and boxing drills at Wild Card plus weeks more of working out in the Philippines in February, it was great to finally put on the headgear and spar," Pacquiao said in a report by ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael.

For the first two rounds, the fighting congressman traded gloves with Finland’s Edis Tatli, a lightweight with a record of 24-1, with 8 KOs. He then got it on with Kenneth Sims Jr., a 21-year-old junior welterweight from Chicago who sports a 5-0 (2 KOs) card.

Freddie Roach personally picked Tatli and Sims to be Pacquiao’s sparring partners, confident that the two fighters can simulate Mayweather’s style.

Pacquiao, for his part, was satisfied with Roach’s choices.

"My sparring partners gave me good work today. They were perfect for testing the strategy Freddie and I have developed to beat Floyd Mayweather. I was very happy with my stamina and speed today," he added.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s longtime cornerman liked what he saw in his ward’s first day of sparring.

"When Manny threw out the first punch it felt like opening day of Irish spring training," Roach said, a reference to St. Patrick’s Day, which is being celebrated in the US today.

"Manny looked so fresh today. I'm very happy with what he showed me. You couldn't tell he had been away from the ring since the (Chris) Algieri fight in November. Manny is on fire in the gym,” the bespectacled trainer continued.

On May 2, Pacquiao seeks to become the first fighter to taint Mayweather’s unbeaten record at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in what’s expected to be the richest match in boxing history. Roach is brimming with confidence about a Pacquiao victory that he came up with a label for the day he fights Mayweather.

"I am confident May 2 will be celebrated for years to come as St. Manny's Day – the day he drove Mayweather out of boxing," Roach ended. – Dino Maragay