No problem with cramps
There was some concern when Manny Pacquiao complained of cramps in his left leg during his routine training here last week. With less than a month before he climbs onto the ring to face WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas on Nov. 5, surely Pacquiao couldn’t be bogged down by cramps.
Box ing coach Freddie Roach immediately took stock of the issue and asked if a doctor had ever checked on Pacquiao’s history of cramping. He was surprised to find out that Pacquiao had never been examined by a doctor for the problem. Roach suggested to bring in Dr. Enrique Pasion of Focus Athletics and Sports Rehab.
“I’ve had this pain in my back due to a bone growth pressing on a nerve for two years,” he said. “It requires surgery to fix but because of my boxing commitments, I can’t find the time to get it done. (ABS-CBN reporter) Dyan (Castillejo) knew about my problem and took me to Dr. Pasion who did a good job of relieving my pain. So I brought Dr. Pasion to Manny to check on his cramping. Manny had done sprints and felt cramps one day last week. Dr. Pasion advised him to take more liquids and electrolytes. That was all. Nothing to worry about. Now, Manny’s good to go.”
Roach said in preparing for previous fights, Pacquiao would stop playing basketball four weeks before a scheduled bout. “That was his promise, no basketball four weeks before a fight,” said Roach. “But this time, he hasn’t played for over a month. He was busy at the Senate. While in Manila, he jogged in the morning and worked out in the gym from 6 to 9 p.m. There was really no time left for basketball.”
**** Roach said Pacquiao’s shoulder problem is now a thing of the past. To this day, he still can’t believe that Pacquiao recovered from surgery to repair a torn right rotator cuff and is able to get full extension despite no rehab or therapy. All he did was to swim occasionally in the open sea and pray a lot. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and his US doctors were just as amazed at Pacquiao’s recovery.
Pacquiao fought Floyd Mayweather with a torn rotator cuff starting the fourth round and couldn’t launch his usual all-out, twofisted attack because of the injury during their fight in Las Vegas last year. Writer John MacDonald of Boxing Monthly Magazine said “Roach believes that Pacquiao’s injury was the definitive factor in determining the outcome whereas Pacquiao believes he was on the wrong end of a bad decision.” MacDonald quoted Roach as saying, “Manny still thinks he won that fight and Bob thinks Manny won the fight... I don’t, it was a close call, Manny fought well considering the injury he had ... at 100 percent, I feel we could dominate Mayweather.”
Roach was in Manila for about a month supervising Pacquiao’s training for Vargas. They left for Los Angeles last Saturday. Pacquiao is expected to motor to Las Vegas on Monday. Since the Senate is in recess, Pacquiao won’t miss any sessions during his US trip. He’ll return home right after facing Vargas.
**** Before leaving for the US, Pacquiao made it a habit to jog three rounds of 2.5 kilometers each around North Forbes Park, where he lives, every morning. Occasionally, Roach set aside a day during the week for Pacquiao to rest. Because Pacquiao is used to extending himself in training, he shows up in the gym ready to explode after a day of rest.
Roach said even as Nicaragua’s Roman (Chocolatito) Gonzalez is No. 1 in The Ring
Magazine’s world pound-for-pound ratings, his choice at the top is Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin. But Roach said Golovkin isn’t as big a crowd drawer as Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez who’s No. 8 in the pound-for-pound ladder. Roach said Golovkin, who is unbeaten and holds the IBF, WBA and WBC middleweight titles, is likely to stay in the 160-pound division because he may not be able to carry his power to supermiddleweight ( 168) or lightheavyweight (175). Pacquiao used to be No. 1 in the pound-for-pound list. He could crack the top 10 again with a convincing win over Vargas.
Pacquiao is out to dethrone Vargas and become the first- ever Senator to reign as world boxing champion. Vargas, however, is determined not to make it happen. “I’m in my prime,” he said, quoted by Mark Butcher in Boxing Monthly Magazine. “I’m 27 and this is the opportunity for me to show the world what I have. I plan to rise to the occasion. You’re going to get a spectacular performance and me beating Manny Pacquiao. This is a dream of mine, a goal I have had since I was a kid and I’m going to accomplish it on Nov. 5. No matter what I have to do to win that fight, I will. I have no doubts.” It appears that Pacquiao will be up against a fighter who doesn’t consider losing an option.