Pacquiao starts sparring today

MANILA—Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao begins his sparring sessions against Michael Medina Thursday at the Cooyesan Hotel gym in Baguio City.  The 24-year-old Mexican super welterweight (22-2-2 with 19 KOs) is expected to provide Pacquiao a stiff test as he approximates the longer reach of Antonio Margarito, who fights the Filipino for the World Boxing Council super welterweight crown on Nov. 13 in Arlington, Texas. American trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning expert Alex Ariza even consider the 6-foot Medina “not a sparring partner but a contender” for a world title. Originally slated Tuesday, Roach pushed back the sparring session after Pacquiao played basketball late into the night Monday. Roach also did not want to aggravate the sprain Pacquiao sustained on his right foot after jogging in the morning. Last Friday, Pacquiao also complained that his left foot was hurting. Pacquiao seemed back in form yesterday as he trained at the Burnham Park, interspersing his runs with sprints while a huge crowd watched in awe.  However, Roach made it clear that when Manny spars he will shut down the gym to keep their game plan from prying eyes.  It was the intense sparring with Medina that helped Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. beat Irishman John Duddy to win the WBC silver middleweight title last June 26. Medina lost a controversial split decision to Duddy in a 10-round bout on March 15.  Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz disclosed that Pacquiao will leave for Los Angeles to train at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym on Oct. 24, which is earlier than originally planned.  Koncz told the Inquirer that Pacquiao will drive down to Manila from his training camp in Baguio City on Oct. 22.  The seven-time, seven division champion will have one last day of sparring at the Johnny Elorde Gym in Quezon City before flying  to LA the following evening aboard a Philippine Airlines flight.  Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is scheduled to arrive from Las Vegas on Oct. 18 while Chavez,  who will also spar with Pacquiao, is slated to plane in on Oct. 8.  In an exclusive interview earlier, Margarito’s chief trainer Robert Garcia disclosed that  Margarito had started sparring Monday against three southpaws. “They bring speed, they bring power and have a lot of good movements, good head movements. They are doing a great job,” Garcia said of Margarito’s sparmates. Garcia conceded though that “it is hard to say we have someone who fights just like Pacquiao because he has his own style but we have guys who are fast, throw a lot of punches and have good footwork. It’s impossible to find somebody that fights just like Manny but we have good sparring partners.” With a report from Frank Cimatu, Inquirer Northern Luzon