‘BRONER’S A GONER’
Roach says Pacquiao has gotten stronger, more confident
LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao isn’t expecting the Adrien Broner that will show up in Las Vegas next week will be somebody who’s going to pass out as soon as he takes off his robe.
In fact, Pacquiao doesn’t consider Broner’s legal problems as reason why he can start lifting his foot off the accelerator.
“I am not taking him for granted despite what he’s going through,” Pacquiao said during his open workout on Wednesday at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
The past few weeks, Broner’s been in the news albeit in a newspaper section outside the sports department.
Broner is facing sexual charges in two US states but remains unfazed.
Pacquiao, defending his World Boxing Association welterweight crown for the first time against Broner on Jan. 19 at the MGM Grand, believes the challenger will be armed to the gills.
“I don’t think he will allow his legal problems to affect him. I expect him to be at his best,” added the 40-year-old eight-division champion, who will be fighting for the first time on American soil in over two years.
While Broner’s been finding himself on the hot seat lately, Pacquiao’s camp has been humming perfectly the past three weeks.
Since arriving here from Manila on Dec. 22, Pacquiao has been training diligently even though he’s been allowed to take more days off than the usual.
But his trainers feel that all the bases have been covered and that Pacquiao is going to come out smoking hot against the trash-talking Broner.
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach claims that Pacquiao has even gotten stronger than before and more confident than ever.
“The biggest change is that he said out loud that he will go for a knockout. That’s the biggest change and I love that,” said Roach, stressing that even at 40, Pacquiao continues to display reflexes and skills normally seen among the up-and-comers.
“Forty is just a number,” said Roach.
For Roach, Broner’s a goner.
“I don’t think he (Pacquiao) is going to have problems with this guy.”
MP PLAYS DOWN PRESIDENCY TALK Meantime, Pacquiao played down reports linking him to a bid for the presidency of the Philippines on Wednesday, insisting he remained solely focused on the twilight of his boxing career.
The 40-year-old boxer, already a member of the Philippines Senate, has been repeatedly linked to a future run for the presidency in his homeland where he remains a national hero.
However, Pacquiao told reporters on Wednesday he had put any future political aspirations on hold as he prepares to defend his World Boxing Association regular welterweight title against Adrien Broner on Jan. 19 in Las Vegas.
“A lot of people are saying that I can be the next President,” Pacquiao told AFP.
“But I'm not thinking about that. I don't have plans right now. Whatever path that God gives to me I will fulfill it.”
“Being a public servant is different from sports. It's more on the mind and a lot of problems, thinking about how to solve those problems in the country, and also to provide solution to those problems.”