By NICK GIONGCO
Manny Pacquiao says it is useless to dwell into the past.
With his heartbreaking loss to Timothy Bradley already a thing of the past, Pacquiao insists “what is important is the present” as the Filipino icon whips himself into form for the rematch set April 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“Throughout my career, you have all witnessed how I turned setbacks into comebacks and how I took advantage of opportunities by turning it into victories,” said the 35-year-old fighting conressman.
Pacquiao said his entire team at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood is doing everything possible to do just that with four weeks remaining before he gets the chance to exact payback.
Bradley was the recipient of a hotly-contested split decision the first time they met almost two years ago and Pacquiao, though deeply pained by the debacle, said losing is part of life and that “what’s also important is how you bounce back.”
Scoring a win over Bradley is not the only thing on Pacquiao’s agenda but posting a knockout win over the unbeaten US fighter is.
Even Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is aware of the enormous pressure for Pacquiao to get back to his old, cold-blooded ways, saying a stoppage is long overdue.
The last time Pacquiao registered an abbreviated win was in late-2009 against Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico, a fight that lasted until the 12th round.
Roach is working doubly hard to make Pacquiao regain his killer instinct and the support cast–led by the recently-rehired conditioning coach Justin Fortune–is also doing their part to realize the goal of getting Pacquiao back to his knockout ways.
Fortune, who was in Pacquiao’s corner from 2003 until 2007, has reintroduced old school training methods to help Pacquiao rediscover the fire in his belly.