01.01.08 – Matthew Hurley: Before his 29th birthday Manny Pacquiao welcomed promoter Bob Arum and trainer Freddie Roach to his home in General Santos City for a discussion on his upcoming bout with Juan Manuel Marquez on March 13th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Arum laid down the law that Pacquiao would not only have to resume full time training camp at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles but also help promote the bout. Arum’s insistence was the result of Pacquiao’s more recent bouts for which he trained almost exclusively in the Philippines and provided the promoter with no face time to help sell tickets. Pacquiao agreed and then partied the night away, his last such indulgence before opening camp in LA..
“Manny wants to fight three times next year,” Arum told the Philippine Star. “But we really can’t look to far ahead.”
Arum and Roach have been concerned that Pacquiao has been stretching himself too thin with his endless array of side projects in the Philippines and that so many distractions could lead to an unprepared fighter entering the ring against a hungry challenger. When it was announced that Marquez would be Pacquiao’s next opponent in a highly anticipated rematch of their thrilling draw back in 2004 promoter and trainer felt it necessary to sit the ever-busy fighter down and attempt to refocus him. Pacquiao, despite continuing his winning ways, has seemed less than the happy-go-lucky dynamo with the boyish smile he was only a few years ago. Whether it has been running for public office, appearing in movies, singing or carousing with Ricky Hatton like flair the Filipino icon has of late been wearing the expression of man burning the candle at both ends. His generosity of both his time and his money has also led to inevitable hangers on in his homeland where his popularity is so overwhelming it’s a wonder the young man has been able to handle it all up to this point. But Arum and Roach know that a few cracks in Manny’s armor are beginning to show and the only way to repair them is to isolate him in the rigid environment at the Wild Card Gym. There he will remain on a short lease, tethered to training and promotional duties.
“We need Manny to help with promotion,” Arum says. “I can’t further his appeal if he’s never around. We can do this while he’s in training. We can only do that if he’s in the United States. It wasn’t difficult to convince Manny to train in the US.”
Roach also expresses relief that he will have Manny for a full training camp in Los Angeles. “With money and fame comes some change,” he told writer Brad Cooney. “He’s a lot bigger and famous now, but one thing about Manny, when he walks into the Wild Card Gym, there is no games. It’s all business and his work ethic is second to none.”
As to whether or not Roach would close down the Wild Card Gym to the public Roach acknowledged that he really has no other choice. “I have to. I apologize to the fans, but we have to close the gym down. We are keeping our strategy close to us and the thing is, we are fighting a real smart fighter in Marquez. We are not taking this lightly.”
As to who Manny will fighter after Marquez, should he defeat the WBC super featherweight champion, both Arum and Roach are willing to toss out a few names while maintaining that all focus is on Marquez. Arum is heavily leaning toward a bout against WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in July and possibly Ricky Hatton in November.
Roach seems especially keen on a potential Hatton bout. “A lot has to happen before (a Hatton fight). We have to win the big fights at 130 and 135. If we are successful at those two fights we want Hatton. Hatton said he wants to fight Manny as well. That is a fight you could put in a phone booth.”