HOLLYWOOD – Manny Pacquiao skipped his afternoon session at the Wild Card Gym here Friday, opting to stay home and give his 40-year-old body enough time to rest and recover.
“We go home,” blurted trainer Buboy Fernandez after officially getting word that Pacquiao had decided to skip the gym session.
It was around 4 p.m. His team members and mediamen had been at the gym for two hours. Fans had waited longer outside.
“Grabe kasi ang training sa Griffith kanina (He trained so hard at Griffith earlier),” said Fernandez of the seven-mile road work up and down the mountains of Griffith Park.
Pacquiao did eight rounds of heavy sparring last Thursday, just enough to impress American trainer Freddie Roach, and those who had the privilege to watch.
Roach didn’t mind Pacquiao not showing up at the gym, which has been quite common the past couple of fights.
At 40, Pacquiao is finally trying to listen to his body.
“When I feel tired, I give my body more time to recover. It’s not like before. As you grow older, it’s more difficult to recover,” said Pacquiao.
“I’m actually happy with that,” said Roach.
“Tomorrow, I expect him to look great again,” he added.
Pacquiao is wrapping up his training here as he moved just a week away from the welterweight showdown with American Keith Thurman.
He is scheduled to spar Saturday and for the last time on Monday before he travels to Las Vegas.
Notes: Members of Manny Pacquiao’s security team are making sure that what happened last January won’t happen again. As Pacquiao fought Adrien Broner in Las Vegas, burglars ransacked his residence at Larchmont Park. No one was left to attend to the house while Pacquiao and his entourage spent a week in Vegas. “This time we have assigned someone to keep watch. There will also be a 24-hour roving (police),” said the head of Pacquiao’s security team, Carlos Homo. It was never revealed what the burglars got away with the last time although insiders said they were no more than signature clothes, some personal items and a laptop. “There was no money involved,” said the security officer.