Manny Pacquiao back to back with his August 21 opponent Errol Spence Jr.
By: Dennis Guillermo
Eight-division World Champion and Philippines Senator Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39KOs) resumed sparring at the Wild Card Gym in LA on Tuesday, two days after his press conference with Errol Spence (27-0, 21KOs) to promote their much-anticipated showdown at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 21.
Pacquiao, who returned to LA last week for his grueling final six weeks of training camp, shook off two-years worth of ring rust against two taller sparring partners tasked to mimic Spence; Maurice Lee (12-1, 5KOs) and Alexis Rocha (17-1, 11KOs), both southpaws and listed at 5’10”. Pacquiao has been putting in work at the Wild Card and has impressed his trainer Freddie Roach and observers with his conditioning despite his two-year layoff from boxing. After his initial sparring last Thursday, Pacquiao did six rounds on Tuesday, four with Rocha, two with Lee.
According to the 24-year-old Rocha, Pacquiao showed no signs of his age in the ring and looked like a fighter in his prime. “No,” he replied when asked if Pacquiao looked 42 in sparring. “Age is just a number in there with him (Pacquiao). He shows that he’s a 28-year-old in there.”
Rocha also noted Pacquiao’s awkwardness and impressive speed and power after seeing it first-hand, which the Filipino legend has been known for throughout his career.
Amidst all the hard work and training, Pacquiao found time to poke fun at his nemesis, Floyd Mayweather, yet again, after getting a visit from YouTube sensation Logan Paul, who went the distance against Mayweather in an exhibition match last June. On Monday, Pacquiao posed with Paul in a photo with the caption: “Honored to have @LoganPaul come by @WildCardBoxing1 today. After watching me work out he said he was glad he fought Mayweather instead of me.”
The epic troll came just days after Pacquiao’s comments at their press conference that Spence didn’t need advice from Mayweather because he considers him the better fighter and that he could “teach Mayweather how to fight toe-to-toe,”- a not so subtle jab at Mayweather’s defense-first style that doesn’t always lead to fan-friendly, action-packed fights.
The response came after Mayweather proclaimed during the press tour for his exhibition against Paul that he didn’t need to fight tough fights because of his financial status while saying Pacquiao needed to do so for the paycheck. To which Pacquiao rebutted, “Some other fighters challenge non-boxers just to get paid. I want to fight. I want to challenge the best.
“There were a lot of opportunities for me to pick an easier fight than this,” Pacquiao continued, “But I picked Errol Spence Jr. because I want a real fight and a great fight for the fans. I’m a fighter and boxing is my passion.”
Spence is indeed a real fight; one that can lead to a bad night for the Filipino boxing legend if father time finally comes knocking. But then again, perhaps the verbal jabs at Mayweather are in hopes they can fight again, in case he couldn’t overcome Spence’s actual jabs. Maybe then Mayweather will consider a Pacquiao rematch.
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