INQUIRER Sports

HOLLYWOOD -- The repeated beating produced a faint sound and inflicted pain, but Manny Pacquiao didn’t seem to mind.

As if in a trance, Pacquiao allowed conditioning trainer Eric Brown to hit him repeatedly with a wooden stick, about 30 inches long, in his body, mostly in the stomach area.

The painful routine, intended to toughen the abdominal area, came after Pacquiao had done a two-hour, 28-round punishing workout.

It underscored the fact that it’s the Filipino’s hardest training regimen ever.

Earlier, he did an uphill run, with fellow Filipino boxer Diosdado Gabi by his side, for 40 minutes and topped it off with 1000 push-ups.

These were impressive numbers, but Filipino trainer Nonoy Neri dismissed it as lighter than usual. Pacquiao’s training is tapering off with his World Boxing Council super featherweight title fight against Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas just eight days away.

At the height of his training last week, Pacquiao went on a 50-minute run and did 36-38 rounds and 2,000 push-ups.

Again, the grind was topped off by the conditioning stick routine reportedly started by the legendary Roberto Duran and popularized by Mexican super bantam champion Israel Vasquez.

Brown, who took over the post vacated by Justine Fortune, was impressed by Pacquiao’s new-found dedication and devotion.

He was even more impressed with the way Pacquiao banged the mitts with chief trainer Freddie Roach.

They synchronized 2, 3, 4 jabs combinations capped by hooks and uppercuts. They practiced going out of the rope maneuvers. They simulated body, head, body attacks and did the 3-punch “secret combination.”

Though Pacquiao had done these maneuvers many times, Brown couldn’t help but be mesmerized.

“Good balance, good control,” said Brown. “I can feel the power. Beautiful.”

Friday’s session actually started on a light note with Pacquiao occassionally blurting out lines as if he’s newscaster Chino Trinidad and delivering it like GMA 7 chief anchor Mike Enriquez, who watched the early part of Pacquiao’s training.

But as soon as the television crew left, Pacquiao went right back to business.