Pacquiao in near perfect shape–Fernandez

HOLLYWOOD—Buboy Fernandez heaved a sigh of relief when he looked at the time on the stopwatch at the end of Manny Pacquiao’s  Griffith Park run Friday.

Now, he’s certain that Pacquiao is just where he needs to be at this stage of his training for the Fight of the Century against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2.

“When I read 54.48 seconds, I was very happy,” said Fernandez, who serves as assistant trainer to boxing Hall of Famer Freddie Roach whenever Pacquiao prepares for a fight. “It meant Manny’s time on the steeper terrain was similar to what he registered on his usual routes at Griffith Park.”

Fernandez said  Pacquiao regularly clocked 54.16 or thereabouts  whenever he ran up to the observatory, then Dante’s Peak before coming down.

“And to think that the inclines were usually over 45 percent,” said Fernandez, who outran  his companions, including the Kayote Boyz, a group of former Filipino boxers now based in Los Angeles. “He’s too fast, the others were left behind.”

“There’s no problem as to Pacquiao’s training thus far”  he said. “A little bit more fine-tuning and polishing and he’ll be 100 percent ready to deal Mayweather his first loss.”

With the bout set at 147 pounds at MGM Grand Garden Arena, Fernandez said he sees smooth sailing for Pacquiao in the remaining days of training camp at Roach’s Wild Card Gym here.

“Right now his weight fluctuates between 148 to 149 pounds, so it’s no longer an issue,” said Fernandez.

“What we’re wary of is accidental injury or sickness.”

To keep him in perfect shape, Pacquiao’s security details are now making sure that persons with coughs, colds or fever do not come close to the eight-division world champion.

For more updates on Pacquiao-Mayweather “Fight of the Century,” visit The Pacquiao Files.