LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao, who turns a ripe 38 on Dec. 17, dismissed that age is fast catching up on him, telling Manila-based interviewers on Saturday he hasn’t lost a step as he gets ready to face young lion Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas.
“Kalabaw lang ang tumatanda,” Pacquiao said after doing six rounds of sparring under the watchful eyes of Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Exactly a week before attempting to knock the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown off Vargas at the Thomas and Mack Center, Pacquiao insists that he continues to feel energized during his afternoon workouts.
So passionate and motivated is Pacquiao that Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who spent a full month with his No. 1 fighter in Manila, has been forced to tell him to take it nice and easy.
In fact, Roach told Pacquiao to take a rest day on Monday so he could relax and travel to Las Vegas in a relaxed mode.
But Pacquiao had none of it, a trait that continues to ring a smile on Roach’s face.
“I tried to talk him out of training on Monday but he said no,” said Roach, who has been the voice in the corner since 2001.
“We just have to be careful in doing too much,” said the 56-year-old Roach, who declared that Pacquiao is already armed to the teeth and raring to get it on with the 27-year-old Vargas.
As Roach puts the clamps on Pacquiao, the fighting lawmaker continues to push harder and harder as if to prove a point.
During fightweek in Sin City, Pacquiao would continue to beg for additional rounds of sparring, mitts and shadowboxing, something Roach will pay attention to avoid burnout.
Besides, from what Roach has seen the past five weeks – four in the Philippines and one full week here – it seems that all bases are already covered.
“We are (already) at 100 percent,” said Roach.