Ariza wants to take Pacquiao back to his old ways of training to get him ready for next fight

Ariza wants to take Pacquiao back to his old ways of training to get him ready for next fightBy Rob Smith: Alex Ariza, the strength and conditioning coach for 33-year-old Manny Pacquiao, wants to take him back to the way he used to train Pacquiao in the past to get him ready for his December 8th fight against possibly 39-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao has noticeably slowed down in his last three fights and doesn’t move around like he used to three years ago.

More importantly, Pacquiao is no longer fighting for the full three minutes of every round. In his last fight against Tim Bradley, Pacquiao only fought hard in the past 20 to 30 seconds of the round. It just looks like Pacquiao has aged both in his performance and in appearance.

Ariza told the Manila Standard “He [Pacquiao] has to go back to the old ways of training, focus more on the other stuff.”

This begs the question: Can Pacquiao get back to where he once was even with Ariza putting him through his old paces like in that past or he simply beyond the point of no return? 33 isn’t old, but it is for some fighters. Muhammad Ali had really slowed down by the time he reached 33. Compared how he looked in his 20s and even in his last 20s, Ali wasn’t the same fighter at 33.

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Pacquiao-Marquez 95 percent finished, say Beltran

Pacquiao-Marquez 95 percent finished, say BeltranBy Rob Smith: Juan Manuel Marquez’s promoter Fernando Beltran is saying that a fight between Marquez and Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) is almost complete with a reported “95%’ of it being done for December 8th. Whether they can get the last 5% remains up in the air but it’s good sign if you’re interested in seeing Pacquiao fight the 39-year-old Marquez yet again after having fought three times in the past already.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum seems to want to put this fight together after another one of their big money options Miguel Cotto bailed out of the Pacquiao lottery in order to fight WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout.

In an interview at the Record.com.mx, Beltran said “The only reason I can not guarantee the fight is because there isn’t a contract of Pacquiao before us. However, in the coming hours we will. Verbally we can announce that on December 8th, we will make this fight…It is 95% finished.”

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Pacquiao expected to fight Marquez on December 8th

Pacquiao expected to fight Marquez on December 8thBy Rob Smith: 33-year-old Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) is expected to sign to fight 39-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s) on December 8th now that Marquez’s only real competitor for the fight, Miguel Cotto, has decided on taking on Austin Trout on December 1st. Technically, WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley is still in the running for Pacquiao’s next fight on December 8th, but he’s not a serious option because of the controversy that surrounded his win over Pacquiao last June. But importantly, Bradley isn’t an option because the Pacquiao-Bradley fight brought in low pay per view totals last time out.

Money is the name of the game, and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is trying to maximize the income he can get for his fighter with what little time he’s got left in the sport. Judging by how Pacquiao has looked in his last two fights, I don’t think he’s got too much time left at the top of the game unless Arum starts spoon-feeding him weaker opposition at some point. A lot of boxing fans think that’s already been going on with Arum putting Pacquiao in with Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and Bradley instead of Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Andre Berto.

Marquez brings in a lot of Hispanic fans to a fourth fight with Pacquiao, and Arum realizes that. It’s a fight that could make a lot of money due to the casual boxing fans that will be excited about seeing this. However, it’s a fight that the hardcore boxing fans have seen one too many times it’s utterly predictable how the fight will take place and end.

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