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
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