HOLLYWOOD—Catch me if you can.
Manny Pacquiao reiterated this challenge to Antonio Margarito Monday as he winds up his training with flourish at the Wild Card Gym here.
Showing off his famed hand speed and flashy footwork, Pacquiao thoroughly dominated longtime sparring partner David Rodela in four rounds, to the delight of those allowed to come in and the consternation of chief trainer Freddie Roach.
At one point, Pacquiao even taunted Rodela with a two-handed banging of the ears similar to what he did to Ghanaian Joshua Clottey whom he beat in lopsided fashion at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last March.
Clearly, Pacquiao was playing to the crowd, always asking Roach for more, banging the heavy bags, skipping ropes and shadow boxing.
Roach had to ask Pacquiao to slow down several times before the representative from Sarangani relented.
And to think that Pacquiao even assaulted the terrain of Griffith Park in the morning despite a slight drizzle.
After a roller-coaster training in Baguio City, Pacquiao picked up the pace upon his arrival at Wild Card to the satisfaction of Roach, who predicted that Pacquiao would stop Margarito in the seventh and eighth rounds.
Though Pacquiao, as always, refuses to guarantee a stoppage, the pound-for-pound king is confident of victory that would hand him an eighth world crown in as many divisions.
He is convinced that his speed would negate whatever advantage Margarito has in height (4 1/2 inches), reach (6 inches) and weight (about 10 pounds at fight night).
“In order to hit me, he has to catch me,” Pacquiao told Manila-based sportswriters Saturday. “(And before he can do that), I’ve got him already.”