by Nick Giongco
Manny Pacquiao took a respite from all the hurt and pain that he has endured the past few weeks in the gym by staying behind closed doors on Tuesday as he prepares to host an open media workout Wednesday afternoon at the Wild Card Boxing Club.
“Zero workout,” reported Pacquiao’s right-hand man Sean Gibbons, noting that the 40-year-old Filipino legend just recharged his batteries inside his room.
“He didn’t even jog in the morning,” added Gibbons.
With ten days left before he locks horns with Keith Thurman at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao’s decision to rest and relax is part of his new training regimen.
In the past, during his younger years, Pacquiao saw nothing wrong in pushing himself to the limit every single day.
But since he is no longer the same guy who hardly took a break, things have changed and his trainers have made Pacquiao realize the wisdom behind it.
Besides, Pacquiao has already covered every base since kicking off the US stage of his buildup and is headed for Sin City on July 15.
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is back in the saddle as chief trainer and the 49-year-old strategist swears Pacquiao continues to amaze him even to this day, 18 years after they got introduced at the very same gym on Vine Street near Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood.
The Thurman clash will be Pacquiao’s 29th fight on American shores and not the last as eight-division champion is still on the lookout for a rematch Floyd Mayweather or a collision with one of the 147-lb ranks top guns.
Apart from Mayweather, others on Pacquao’s radar screen are Errol Spence, former sparmate Shawn Porter or Terrence Crawford, who is with Top Rank.
