Roach hints that Pacquiao is nearing retirement -- ESPN

ESPN staff

A potential mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr appears unlikely to ever take place after the Filipino's trainer Freddie Roach revealed his charge is set for retirement in favour of his new political role.

The five-weight world champion won a seat in the Philippine Congress in May and, despite an impending fight with Antonio Margarito, Roach admitted his fighter is losing his hunger.

"We are going to lose Manny Pacquiao to politics, for sure," Roach told BBC World Service. "After the first couple of days of training Manny came up to me and said 'I miss my job', and I said 'you're at your job', and he said 'no, I miss Congress'."

Pacquiao takes on the hard-hitting Margarito for the vacant WBC light-middleweight crown in Dallas on November 13 and Roach is concerned ahead of the bout.

"We're fighting against a big, strong guy who's going to be in great shape and we're a little behind schedule which is very unusual," he said. "I'm not sure if it's the size of the sparring partners that's giving him trouble or he's just not himself yet.

"He's getting better and better every day but it's coming a lot slower than usual. Usually Manny has his first sparring session and could fight 12 rounds the next day, I can't say that at this point in the camp. But we do have two hard weeks of sparring coming up before we start tapering off and slowing down and saving it for the fight."

Pacquiao stated after he was elected that he would only take to the ring for one final time - apparently shutting the door on a possible showdown with the unbeaten Mayweather.

However, if the money was right, it had been widely expected that the two pugilists - who almost agreed a fight for March this year until negotiations broke down regarding drug testing - would get it on in a contest to decide the pound-for-pound king. But Roach's surprising comments look to have quashed any hope of the two rivals facing off against each other.

Source: espn.co.uk

Manny Pacquiao last fight with Antonio Margarito means no Mayweather match? -- Examiner

By Roz Zurko, Examiner.com

The complex world of Manny Pacquiao may just win out to politics, according to the BBC News. Pacquio, who is fighting Antonio Margarito on November 13th, has already been tagged by promoter Bob Arums as “not up to his usual speed.”

Now Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, is expressing his fear the Pacquiao may just quit boxing all together in favor for his career in politics. He is also expressing his concern about Pacquiao’s training for this fight.

According to the BBC, “We are fighting against a big strong guy and we haven’t had the best training camp,” says Roach.

Pacquiao ran and won a seat in Congress in the Philippines in May and he seems to be enjoying his new position, maybe more so than boxing. It just could be that his heart is no longer in the boxing ring where he rose to fame.

Pacquiao is showing signs that he may just have “fallen out of love with the sport (boxing), according to the BBC. Roach told the BBC that “we are going to lose Pacquiao to politics for sure” after his fight with Margarito in November.

Roach said that at one point during training, Pacquiao said to him, “I miss my job,” and Roach was quick to answer, “this is your job.” This was not the job that Pacquiao was referring to, he was talking about his job in congress.

The fight that the boxing world would be really hyped up to see would be the one that was planned and then canceled between Pacquiao and Mayweather in January.

Mayweather’s demands that Pacquiao submit to random blood and urine tests was met with a refusal from Pacquiao, which ultimately caused the fight to fall through.

Pacquiao stated that after winning his seat in Congress that he would only have one more fight. Is this it and if it is, is Pacquiao invested in winning as much as he would be if his career in the boxing ring were to be continuing?

If Pacquiao does opt for his position in Congress to be his only career, this means the world may never get to see a Pacquiao vs. Meriweather fight.

Connecticut has become a boxing destination along the lines of Vegas and New Jersey, This is due to the Nutmeg State‘s two large casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Suns. A Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame has been created in recent years at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Big name matches have been fought in Connecticut and will continue to be held in rings at both these large casinos nestled in the north east corner of Connecticut.

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao Plans to Attack Early vs. Margarito -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Declaring that he is nearly in peak form and almost ready to go, Manny Pacquiao said on Friday he will pounce on Antonio Margarito as soon as the bell sounds signaling the start of their scheduled 12-round world super-welterweight title fight on Nov. 13 in Dallas.

“Aatake kami sa first and second rounds,” Pacquiao told scribes on Friday after a workout done under the pouring morning rain at the Rizal Memorial track oval.

A day after capping his high-altitude training camp in Baguio City on full throttle, Pacquiao ranked his conditioning from a scale of 1 to 10 at “nine and a half,” something the 31-year-old pound-for-pound king hopes would calm the nerves of his concerned followers.

“Ready na tayo,” said Pacquiao, who, despite missing several roadworks and a couple of afternoon training sessions, affirmed he is right on track in reaching the desired level of conditioning by the time he answers the bell at Cowboys Stadium.

Before leaving Baguio Thursday afternoon, Pacquiao sparred 11 rounds with Amir Khan, Glen Tapia and Michael Medina that left a smile on the face of chief trainer Freddie Roach, who has been a tad worried on the progress of his prized puncher’s buildup.

Training assistant Buboy Fernandez also echoed his boss’ assessment.

“Nasa 90 percent na kami ngayon,” said Fernandez, who shares the training chores with Nonoy Neri under the strict supervision of Roach and conditioning coach and taskmaster Alex Ariza.

Drenched in a mix of perspiration and rain, Ariza presided over the wet workout, issuing orders like a general in the beaches of Normandy and making his presence truly felt when he ordered Pacquiao back to the tracks when the rains began to fall.

Pacquiao hesitated for a moment but gave in and finished all the drills that had been laid out as rains pelted the ground and onlookers and mediamen began scampering for cover.

Pacquiao will train in Metro Manila until Saturday afternoon and will board a Philippine Airlines flight for Los Angeles in the evening to kick off the final phase of his training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Roach said a couple of sparmates are eagerly awaiting Pacquiao’s arrival so they could test the mettle of the world’s No. 1 fighter.

Source: mb.com.ph

Adviser: Manny Pacquiao Had an Off Day, A Cold, 'Never Twisted' Ankle -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Has Manny Pacquiao really looked that bad in sparring, or is Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum, just spinning a promotional yarn to entice viewers for the seven-division titlist's Nov. 13 clash with ex-titlist Antonio Margarito?

Also, did Pacquiao, in fact, suffer an ankle injury while playing a recent game of pick up basketball?

Michael Koncz, the adviser of the southpaw WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king, tackled each of the questions in rapid succession.

"Everything is fine here," said Koncz, reached in Baguio City, Philippines, where the 31-year-old Pacquiao is finishing up his preparation under four-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach before arriving in Los Angeles on Saturday.

"Trust me, everything will be just fine when we get to Los Angeles," said Koncz. "And then, we will make a final push for the fight over the last two weeks."

Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) will bring a winning streak of 12 consecutive fights, including eight knockouts, into his match up opposite Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown, and is in pursuit of his eighth belt over as many different weight divisions.

Among the sparring partners for Pacquiao have been junior middleweights Michael Medina (24-2-2, 19 KOs), and, Glen Tapia (7-0, five KOs), as well as WBA junior welterweight (140 pounds) titlist Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs).



Junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KOs) is expected to join that group when Pacquiao arrives in America.

"Sparring has been going well. It's been good," said Koncz. "The sparring with Amir Khan went fine. It was a change for Manny and it kept him on his toes."

As incentive, Pacquiao's sparring partners can earn $2,000 for knocking the fighter off of his feet. So far, however, none have been able to collect.

But after witnessing a recent session, Arum did not like what he saw in Pacquiao, according to reports in the Philippine Star and BoxingScene.com.

"When I watched Manny on Saturday, I didn't see the kind of speed that he would need to beat Margarito. If the fight happened on Saturday, Margarito would win the fight," said Arum. "Antonio Margarito is a very focused fighter. With all the problems he has had, he knows that if he wins this fight then sky's the limit."

Koncz dismissed Arum's observations to an off-day for Pacquiao.

"Bob Arum, unfortunatley, witnessed the day when Manny was not at his best. So Bob caught Manny on a bad day. He was just a little sluggish. He was sparring and Bob watched him spar," said Koncz.

"Manny was sparring Glen Tapia and then he sparred Michael Medina that day. He was, well, sluggish. Just a little slower than usual," said Koncz. "Manny didn't seem to have the energy that he usually has. Do I attribute it personally to anything? No, it was just a bad day."

Arum also cited numerous distractions like the nightly basketball games, one of which was believed to have resulted in an ankle injury.



Koncz, yet again, squashed that notion.

"That's not true. Manny never twisted his ankle. He just had a problem with the bottom of the foot," said Koncz. "It was a tendon issue on the left foot. But it's resolved. I don't recall the exact date that that happened, but it's not bothering him anymore."

Pacquiao did miss one day of training "because of the head cold," said Koncz back on Oct. 10.

"I don't know how he got the cold, he just caught a cold. Maybe it was simply the change in the weather. He was sniffling, not that there was any total congestion or anything," said Koncz. "Manny was just sniffling. We figured that it would be better for him to just rest a day rather than work hard and prolong it. So he took the day off, and he felt much better the next day."

Arum still believes that Pacquiao will right himself in training.

"[Manny's] got no problems at all getting focused. He's done everything possible for him to be ready physically and mentally. Can he win this fight? Absolutely, he has plenty of time to get into shape and be the old Manny Pacquiao," said Arum.

"And if he's the old Manny Pacquiao, he's too fast and too talented to get beaten by Margarito," said Arum. "But this Manny Pacquiao is not enough. That's all."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Boxing Experts Pick Mayweather Jr. Over Pacquiao -- Opposing Views

By Ian Palmer, Opposing Views

The world is aching to see a boxing showdown between Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) of the Philippines and American Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KOs), the top two pound-for-pound-fighters on the planet. But there’s a chance it’ll never happen, especially with Mayweather facing a possible prison sentence.

But if it did come off, it’d be one of the biggest fights in boxing history -- if not the biggest from a financial standpoint. Just the mention of these two stepping into the ring against each other is enough to ignite thousands of heated debates around the globe. Everybody has an opinion on the outcome of this fantasy fight, but let’s see what some of the experts have to say about it.

Most credible boxing Web sites consist of excellent writers and analysts, and the majority of them agree Mayweather would come out on top. BoxingNewsworld.com polled 25 of the top boxing writers, including scribes from Ring magazine, Doghouse boxing, Eastside Boxing, Fight Beat, Boxing Scene, Ringside Report, and Boxing Talk. Surprisingly, a whopping 23 of the 25 thought Mayweather would win, with just two backing Pacquiao.

But examiner.com’s Brad Cooney leans towards Pacquiao and said he thinks the Filipino would knock Mayweather out. “Pacquiao’s speed is ridiculous, and he is a two handed punching machine. Pacquiao’s punches have very bad intentions, and he throws a lot of them. Fighting Pacquiao is like someone throwing 30 running chainsaws at you at the same time.”

While these writers are well respected, they aren’t in the ring everyday and don’t live and breathe the sport 24 hours a day. Let’s take a look at the opinions of those who are considered "insiders." Trainers Joe Goossen, Ronnie Shields, Buddy McGirt, Robet Garcia, and Yoel Judah all had interesting opinions.

Goossen said Mayweather wants nothing to do with Pacquiao because the WBO welterweight champion gives him the willies. He added that Mayweather doesn’t like fighting southpaws, Pacquiao is hard to discourage and he doesn’t stop punching.

Shields thinks Mayweather’s too good defensively, but it’d be a close fight with Pacquiao the aggressor and Mayweather landing the harder and cleaner shots. He sees Mayweather blocking and countering and doing enough to win.

McGirt agreed with the choice, but said Mayweather would have to punch at the same time as Pacquiao instead of waiting. “I just think Floyd is better. And he’s very fast. You don’t know how fast until you’re in the opposite corner. His speed is unbelievable. I think Pacquiao would run into counters.”

Garcia evened the score when he predicted Pacquiao would win because of the sheer volume of punches he throws, but said he wouldn’t knock Mayweather out. “Mayweather doesn’t throw that many punches. I think there’ll be times he’ll take the combinations and not throw anything back. That should give Pacquiao the rounds.”

Judah broke the deadlock when he said Pacquiao would destroy Mayweather. “He’s too busy for Floyd. Floyd is a slick fighter, smart and everything. But I think Pacquiao is too busy. He’s too busy. Too busy.”

British boxing promoter Frank Warren picked Mayweather. "I think Mayweather is a natural counter puncher, although Pacquiao is a tremendous puncher, very fast, but…he can be hit. If I was a bookmaker, I would make Mayweather the favorite. HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant agreed and said Mayweather sould be the favourite by odds of about 7/5 or 8/5.

They’re all good and valued opinions, but let’s hear from some boxers themselves, especially those who have been in the ring with either Pacquiao or Mayweather or both of them.

Middleweight prospect Richard Pierson (9-2, 6 KOs) said the only way Mayweather wins is if he trains harder than ever, and if Pacquiao breaks both his hands before the fight. He predicted a Pacquiao knockout.

Super bantamweight Israel Vazquez (44-5, 32 KOs) went with Mayweather because of the weight difference. He said Pacquiao throws more punches, but Mayweather has better abilities.

Jr. middleweight Ishe Smith (21-9, 5 KOs) said Pacquiao would fold like Mosley did against Mayweather.

Jr. welterweight Zab Judah (39-6, 27 KOs), who lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather in 2006, said, “I think Floyd will win. I think a lot of the shots that Pacquiao is gonna throw at him is not gonna hit him. Floyd is an expert at counter punches.”

Lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs), who lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather last year and fought to a draw and a split-decision loss to Pacquiao, believes Mayweather’s smarter and faster. He said, "He has the great defense. He can move, move, move. Pacquiao has the power, but Mayweather has the intelligence, the speed and the counter punches."

Another expert opinion belongs to British boxer Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs), who was stopped by both Pacquiao and Mayweather. He backed Mayweather by saying “Mayweather is so good he doesn’t let you get any punches off. If he makes Pacquiao miss he’ll take the sting out of him.” However, he added, “I’d rather watch Pacquiao though. Mayweather will go down as one of the all time greats but I wouldn’t get up at four o’clock in the morning to watch him. He bores the sh*t out of me.”

Overall, it looks like Mayweather would be favored by most of these experts. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to see who was right and wrong in the near future.

Pacquiao enters the ring again on Nov. 13 as he takes on Antonio Margarito for the WBC Super Welterweight Title. PinnacleSports.com has the odds of a Pacquiao win at -611 and a Margarito victory at +461

Source: opposingviews.com

Andre Berto's Dream Fights: Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

When WBC welterweight (147 pounds) champion Andre Berto of Winterhaven, Fla., makes the fifth defense of his crown against Mexico City's Freddy Hernandez on an HBO televised, Nov. 27 card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the 27-year-old fighter will do so with the purpose of taking his status into the next stratosphere.

With Berto-Hernandez taking place as part of an HBO televised triple-header promoted by Golden Boy Promotions whose main event will feature WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) titlist Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 knockouts) of Mexico opposite WBO interim king Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs) of Australia, the unbeaten titlist is looking to steal the show.

With WBA super bantamweight (122 pounds) king Celestino Caballero (34-2, 23 KOs) rising to super featherweight (130 pounds) against Jason Litzau (27-2, 21 KOs) also on the show, Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) aims to turn in a performance against Hernandez (29-1, 20 KOs) that will lure dream match ups such as those opposite WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) king Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs), former welterweight and junior middleweight world champion Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs), rising Philadelphia prospect Mike Jones (22-0, 18 KOs), and, WBO junior welterweight (140 pounds) king Tim Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs) or WBO welterweight belt-holder Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs)

But first, Berto will have to take down the 31-year-old Hernandez, who has won 12 straight, six by knockout, since losing a split-decision to Golden Johnson in February of 2005.

Berto is coming off of April's career-defining, eighth-round knockout of Puerto Rican southpaw and former world champion Carlos Quintana, the only man to have ever beaten former three-time titlist Paul Williams (39-1, 27 KOs).

FanHouse: What are your reflections off of your last fight with Carlos Quintana and perhaps where it should have taken your career?

Andre Berto: You know, my last fight with Quintana, you know, it was a pretty exciting fight. You know I went in there with a lot of emotions and a lot of things on my mind dealing with the Haitian disaster and everything. There was a lot of different things going on.

There were a lot of things that had happened in my life, personally. I went in there and tried to handle my business pretty quickly. I didn't want to go in there and stay in there and wait for very long. I ended up tearing my bicep in the second round and that gave me a little bit more motivation to get out of there early.


When you completed the knockout, and you looked at the crowd, and you stepped out of that ring, did you feel as though you had completed a career-defining victory?

You know, I believe that the performance was okay. I came off of about a one year layoff. I was getting in there and I was fighting a crafty veteran in Quintana who had beaten Paul Williams.

Quintana had also given Miguel Cotto a helluva fight. But even with all of that, I don't feel as though it was my best performance at all.


What are your dream fights?

If it could all be worked out, and I'm telling you this because I know that people are always reading about these sort of things on blogs and this and that. They say that I don't want to fight this person or that person, and that I don't want to face the big name guys.

But I'm letting you know now that if it was all up to me, after Freddy Hernandez, if I could line things up for next year then it would be Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and then Manny Pacquiao. If I could get all three of them next year, you know, that would be my route that I would want to go in.

Then, I think that with that, I would be able to be satisfied. That would definitely satisfy myself and that would definitely show where I'm at.


Are you at all frustrated by the fact that you still are not in a major fight with a big name opponent coming off of the win over Carlos Quintana?

I think that coming into the fight game in general that I've always had a lot of great expectations. I don't think that is going to change any time soon, even after I've gone in there and stopped a guy like Carlos Quintana. I think that the critics are still going to speak.

I don't think that they're going to be satisfied until I actually get a chance to go in there and I have an opportunity to go in there and to dominate one of these top opponents. I mean, that's what any young fighter who is in my position would feel great about.

I mean, moving at the pace that I've been moving at, just to have the opportunity to have had the chance to have a career-defining fight against Carlos Quintana. I understand, because I know how the fight game is, that people are hungry for the best to be fighting the best.

I feel that I'm a good young kid, so they want to automatically throw me in there to fight the best. This is how it goes. My expectations are still going to continue to grow and they're not going to be satisfied.

Until I can go in there and continue to stop guys that people don't think that I can stop, then they'll continue to criticize. But that's just the position that I'm in. Realistically, though, I can't be made about that. I think that in the end that it means that I've been doing something right.


What sort of victory do you feel that you need against Freddy Hernandez?

At the end of the day, realistically, the only thing that counts is a victory. Freddy Hernandez has been achieving for his whole career. At the end of the day, the win is all that counts. But my mentality has definitely changed so that I'm a crowd-pleaser.

A lot of fighters don't care about the crowd situation and they just want to get a win. But I'm going to be myself and I believe that's really just going in there and not really looking to go the distance at all.

I'm looking forward to going in there and putting the heat on anybody that I'm in there with. I just want to continue to try to make that noise. There is not a lot of reward on the line against Freddy Hernandez, you know. I don't really stand to gain too much from this win.

But then again, I have a lot of things to prove. So I have to train really hard because these are the types of fights that make me train a little bit harder because there are a lot of higher expectations of me for this type of a fight. Everybody is expecting me to sort of go in there and to blow this kid out of the water.

Then, again, I know that this kid wants a world title, so this is his chance to build his name by knocking me off. So, those are the things that I think about. I don't change anything. This is training like I'm going to fight a Shane Mosley or a Miguel Cotto, so I'm looking forward to going in there and going to work.

I've never seen Freddy Hernandez fight, but I know the basics and what to look for. I know that my speed is going to play a big part, and I've been in camp for about three weeks working on that. I wanted to get in here early and get sharp early and things are coming together fairly quickly.

It's going to be me being a little more aggressive. I'm going to go in there and try to handle my business.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

“Pacquiao getting better” – Roach -- PhilBoxing

By Eddie Alinea, PhilBoxing.com

BAGUIO CITY – Despite the various distractions that marked Manny Pacquiao’s four-week training here, trainer Freddie Roach expressed belief his seven-division world champion ward has gained a lot in terms of how to win his fight against Mexican Antonio Margarito set next month.

“As I have been saying, there were many distractions, but I can assure you we had survived all those and that Manny’s been getting better each day,” Roach said yesterday, the day Team Pacquiao was scheduled to resume training in Manila.

For one, we’ve started working on our strategy. We, definitely, now how to win against that guy, who undoubtedly bigger, heftier and stronger,” Roach said by way of assessing the results of the team’s one month efforts.

“He’s lagged more than half of the number of rounds we’re targeting before the actual fight day. He’d faced three taller and stronger mates, whose fighting style approximate that of Margarito,” he said in reference to world junior-welterweight champion Amir Khan, promising Glen Tapia and super-welterweight Michael Medina.

Counting yesterday’s 10-round sparring, the Pacman would have lagged no less than 80 rounds, some 40 rounds shy of Roach’s target 120 rounds.

Team Pacquiao left this summer capital late afternoon yesterday following his last day of preparations here and is scheduled to resume working out today and tomorrow at the Elorde Gym in Quezon City where he actually started his buildup program.

“Everything, including putting the reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champ in tip-top shape will be polished when the team reach Los Angeles,” he said.

The team leaves tomorrow night for L.A.

The flurry of typhoon “Juan” which devastated Northern Luzon, including this city, somehow cancelled the routine roadwork, but Roach said Pacquiao made up for that by plyometric training being applied by conditioning coach Alex Ariza.

Ariza, for his part, said he is now focusing on the food Pacquiao is taking daily so he can grow a little heavier than his present state.

“He is between 150 to 152 pounds as of yesterday, but if we do not supplement his food intake, that would decrease considerably with the scheduled shifting of his training to high gear,” the Columbian conditioning expert said.

The Pacquiao-Margarito bout for the vacant World Boxing Council super-welterweight crown is set at catch weight 151 pounds.

He assured though that there is nothing to worry about because of Pacquiao’s capacity to adjust to his training regimen.

Source: philboxing.com

Antonio Margarito's training days -- ESPN

By Antonio Margarito, Special to ESPNdeportes.com

In Antonio Margarito's training diary, the boxer offers an overview of his preparations -- on both a personal and professional level -- for his Nov. 13 fight against Manny Pacquiao (HBO PPV). Margarito, who will fight in the United States for the first time since his year-long suspension, offers intimate details of his training camp in California and opens the doors to his gym for a look at his intense daily routine.

Part 1: I am training very hard. For this fight we will be training for nine weeks. My routine is the same every day. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and I jog. I run for about 45 or 50 minutes, sometimes up to an hour. We run in different places. Sometimes we go to the beach, or to the mountains, or we go to a park here in Oxnard, which is where we're training now. We were in L.A. for two weeks when we started training, but now we're in Oxnard.

After that, I come back and have breakfast. I take a shower, take a nap and then at around 1 p.m. we go to the gym. There, we do some sparring and maybe hit the pads, the double-end bag, and also some weights. Then I go eat and after that I go to sleep and that's my daily routine.

We're staying in a hotel. It's like a small lodge. I am here with my wife, but my entire family is in Tijuana. My wife is the only one who is with me all the time, but my family always stays in Tijuana, and I always do it like this. I have trained in the mountains (Big Bear) before, but that was when I was starting out. Right now we're working here in Oxnard, in the gym that (trainer) Robert (Garcia) owns here, and we're very pleased.

We have a lady that cooks for us, and after we're done she cooks for all of us. She takes care of me and cooks all kinds of foods, but always low in calories. I don't have limitations, I eat anything, but it has to be low in fat and calories.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Not Even a Typhoon Can Stop Pacquiao From Training -- Jakarta Globe

By Associated Press

Manny Pacquiao should be getting accustomed to training through typhoons by now.

The pound-for-pound king has been preparing for his Nov. 13 bout with Antonio Margarito in his native Philippines, where Typhoon Megi struck with fury this week, killing at least 20 and destroying thousands of homes.

Promoter Bob Arum said on Wednesday that Pacquiao’s training camp in the mountains near Baguio City escaped the brunt of the storm.

Roads were flooded and trees knocked over, but the fighter and his entourage were safe.

“Wind and rain like you’ve never seen, really strong, strong wind,” Arum said.

“Even though you’re in the mountains, it’s like when I was a kid and lived on Long Island for the summer, and we would have these hurricanes that came up the Atlantic coast.”

Pacquiao certainly has experienced this before.

While he was preparing for a fight against Miguel Cotto in September 2009, typhoons Parma and Ketsana raked across the archipelago within a week of each other, killing about 500 people.

They triggered dozens of mudslides, destroyed crops and caused an estimated $600 million in damages.

Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach plan to wrap up camp in Baguio City on Thursday, then drive to Manila and leave for Los Angeles on Saturday.

They’ll resume training camp at Roach’s Wild Card Gym on Monday. 

Source: thejakartaglobe.com