By Nick Giongco
Jetlagged and all, Manny Pacquiao stepped on the gas on a day when most people sat in front of the table feasting on holiday treats and exchanging pleasantries.
But barely four weeks before he meets Adrien Broner in the first defense of his World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown, Pacquiao towed along his training team to the La Brea Park near the trendy Grove shopping area on a cold Christmas morning for his roadwork.
As the sun was setting, Pacquiao drove to the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood for his afternoon gym session.
Meeting him there was Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who spent some time with his prized pupil doing the mitts for the first time in over two years.
Before the pad work, Pacquiao did ten rounds with three different guys, including mainstay Australian George Kambosos and American Lydell Rhodes.
“(Pacquiao was) strong,” exclaimed US boxing man Sean Gibbons, who watched the proceedings but was not allowed to take videos and pictures of the actual sparring.
Pacquiao, who turned 40 last Dec. 17, arrived in LA over the weekend after four weeks in Manila and General Santos City.
Roach, who spent the first day of training watching, was a bit more involved this time but lead trainer Buboy Fernandez was still the one running the show.
Fernandez is also expected to be the one giving instructions in the corner on Jan. 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Fernandez made his debut as the top dog in the corner when Pacquiao mauled Lucas Matthysse of Argentina last July in Kuala Lumpur.
