Pacquiao punching harder, less careless

Manny Pacquiao. AP FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES—Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao has matured a lot since his six-round knockout loss to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

“He has learned a big lesson out of that. He became more cautious and has matured a lot as a fighter,” said Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez, assistant trainer for Pacquiao.

Fernandez said Pacquiao was winning the fight and about to finish off Marquez when he became hasty.

“He is a fearless fighter inside the ring. In his desire to end the fight in a convincing fashion just to make the fans happy, he went for the kill in the dying seconds of the sixth round. And he paid dearly for it,” recalled Fernandez.

Now, Fernandez said, Pacquiao has remained ferocious but is no longer a careless fighter.

“His punches now are sharper and harder than before. We’ve been training together for years and I can say it based on actual experience,” said Fernandez, who suffered a cut on his mouth during the punch mitts session at Fortune Gym on Tuesday.

Nonstop pounding

Several times during the punch mitts session, Fernandez was dazed due to nonstop pounding from Pacquiao.

“I was accidentally caught with his left uppercut. His punches were controlled but coming from someone like Manny Pacquiao, you’d really be hurt,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez believes Pacquiao’s barrage of powerful punches will eventually break down Floyd Mayweather’s defense.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) faces eight-division champion Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) on May 2 in the richest fight of all time.

“Mayweather has not fought in his entire career a fighter with so much power, speed and a fearless heart like Manny Pacquiao. His defense would be shattered,” Fernandez said.

Mayweather lookalike

Pacquiao was unperturbed by reports that Mayweather’s camp was bribing his prospective sparring mates.

“It’s OK. I’m not bothered. Coach Freddie (Roach) had already hired a few sparring partners who are Mayweather’s lookalike,” Pacquiao said.

“During the fight, there’s no other guy atop the ring except the two of us. I know what to do. And that’s what we’re practicing now,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao vowed to pursue Mayweather relentlessly from pillar to post, adding: “He can run but he cannot hide.”

The superfight will be great for boxing no matter what the outcome, Roach said on Friday.

Speaking ahead of the weigh-in for his charge Zou Shiming’s world title fight against IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng on Saturday in Macau, Roach said he expected the boxing’s popularity to surge on the back of the huge interest in the fight.

US trainer of the year

Roach owns Wildcard gym in Los Angeles where Pacquiao is training for the Mayweather encounter.

Roach reckons it will be a very busy place after the two best fighters of a generation finally lock horns in the richest fight of all time, expected to be worth more than $200 million.

“It’s going to generate a lot of interest in boxing,” said Roach, who has been voted US trainer of the year for the seventh time.

The Wildcard gym won’t be throwing its doors open until after the megafight. With “Pacman” in training, Wildcard is now under security lockdown as Roach and his team try to plot their way to victory over Mayweather in secret.

RELATED STORIES

Boxing legend: Whoever wins, it’s still biggest fight in history

Gamblers heavily betting on Pacquiao to be first man to beat Mayweather