Boxing hero Manny Pacquiao has overcome disruptions from typhoons and landslides while training in the Philippines to be in ideal shape ahead of his big bout with Miguel Cotto, his trainer said.
“He is right where I want him to be, perfect,” Freddie Roach said on Thursday evening after the six-time world-champion completed a heavy workout that included 10 rounds of sparring in a Manila gym.
Pacquiao will head to the US on the weekend after an intense five weeks of training in his home country, during which more than 1,000 people died in natural disasters.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Pacquiao was even forced to move camps from the cool mountain resort of Baguio to the sweaty capital of Manila after storms claimed hundreds of lives in and around the hill station, then a typhoon threatened more damage there.
But Roach insisted the disasters had not impacted his 30-year-old protege, who stunned the world with victories over Oscar de la Hoya last year and Britain’s Ricky Hatton in May.
“We didn’t let it affect our training. We worked right through it and never missed a day,” Roach said of the storms. “So it was a great training camp in Baguio.”
PHOTO: AFP
Pacquiao is a deeply religious man and a hero to virtually everyone in the Southeast Asian nation. But Roach said Pacquiao had remained completely committed to his training despite the disasters going on around him.
“One hundred percent. No problem at all. It’s been a really good training camp. He’s been focused from day one, throughout,” he said.
Pacquiao will travel to Los Angeles for two weeks of training ahead of his Nov. 14 fight against Cotto.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and 2022 drafts, on Thursday won for the first time in the major leagues. Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-best seven innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. The 25-year-old right-hander was drafted third overall by Texas in 2022, a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick. He made his major
RSS