INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—Manny Pacquiao will be relying on new science to bolster his chances against odds-on favorite Oscar De La Hoya.

Unlike in his previous fight preparations, there will be strength and conditioning techniques, cross training and weight training this time to equip Pacquiao against whatever physical advantage De La Hoya has over him, according to a report in www.philboxing.com.

Because there won’t be any need to reduce weight—the Filipino phenomenon will be moving up two weight classes to reach the 147-pound catchweight—there will be workouts to make sure he’s in top condition for the Dec. 6 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Strength and conditioning will be handled by Alex Ariza, who actually joined Team Pacquiao for the David Diaz fight last June.

Weight training, under Rob Peter’s watch, will entail rhythmic lifting of light weights to “enhance Manny’s explosiveness to a large degree,” said the philboxing.com report.

Pacquiao, in his column in the tabloid Abante Wednesday, said they are also cooking up something in a “secret corner” in Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym.

“In a secret corner, we are doing some preparations to give me new strength and speed while gaining muscle mass,” Pacquiao said.

In recent sessions, Roach pinned De La Hoya’s picture on his body armor for Pacquiao to hit. This indicates that he will go for the mid-section, which experts believe may be weakened by De La Hoya’s drastic weight reduction.

Pacquiao started sparring Tuesday against 5-foot-11 welterweight Rashad Holloway. Four more boxers will be called in to spar with the Filipino superstar in the next few weeks.

Last Wednesday, Pacquiao also started uphill jogs to build up his oxygen tank.

Incidentally, his 35-year-old nemesis has also been training in high altitude. For the first time since beating Arturo Gatti (in his last welterweight fight) in 2001, De La Hoya hightailed it to the snow-capped mountains of Big Bear, California, with master trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain. Marc Anthony Reyes