Serious Pacquiao trains in the rain, meets the President

MANILA—Even A sudden heavy downpour couldn’t stop Manny Pacquiao from training Friday morning as the Filipino pound-for-pound king expressed readiness to do battle with Mexican Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13.   Using a cap and a white towel to shield his sweat-drenched body from the rain, Pacquiao grimly completed the speed-building and footwork-enhancing exercises charted for him by conditioning expert Alex Ariza at the Rizal Memorial track and field oval.   Retreating to a shaded corner at the stadium where onlookers, media and Team Pacquiao members sought refuge from the rain, Pacquiao capped the strength-sapping two-hour regimen by doing abdominal exercises with help from Filipino trainers Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri.   “I’m already at 9.5,” Pacquiao told GMA 7’s Chino Trinidad in Filipino when asked about his condition on a scale of 1-10. “Ready to fight na.”   Team Pacquiao, including chief trainer Freddie Roach, will be leaving Saturday night on a PAL flight for Los Angeles, where he’s going to continue his preparations for the vacant World Boxing Council super welterweight crown at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.   “There’s still room for improvement,” said Pacquiao. “I’m now comfortable with my added weight and I don’t think it slowed me down. It’s just that I want to develop my speed further.”   “I like it (Pacquiao’s showing during training),” said Ariza, who at one time applauded Pacquiao for surpassing the target time.   Filipino boxers Rodolfo Sumabong and Richie Mepranum provided Pacquiao company in the running drills that included jogging, sprints, backward and sidewise running and lateral foot movements, but both eventually lagged behind.   Pacquiao, a 6-1 favorite over Margarito, then met with President Aquino at around 2 p.m.  The congressman from Sarangani was accompanied by lawyer Franklin “Jeng” Gacal during the meeting with the president.   Gacal said that when Mr. Aquino walked into the room, he told Pacquiao “I have only 10 minutes,” but ended up chatting with the Filipino icon for around 40 minutes.   He said Pacquiao invited the President to watch his fight at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium but Mr. Aquino politely declined saying he was “too busy and had so much to attend to.”   Gacal said the meeting “will inspire Manny even more to fight for our country.”