Pacquiao impressive in first session with Roach

MANNY Pacquiao made Freddie Roach smile in satisfaction yesterday.

Eager to impress his chief trainer in their first gym session this year, Pacquiao put on a highly spirited show at his Wild Card Gym, fronting SM Mall, in General Santos City.

Pacquiao was fast and furious in their mitts session, eliciting praises from Roach, who planed in from Los Angeles on Sunday.

“Roach was very happy about Manny’s physical condition on his arrival,” Aquiles Zonio, Pacquiao’s media officer, told the Inquirer.

“He saw that Pacquiao already has speed and power.”

Pacquiao started preparations early under the supervision of assistant trainer and close friend Buboy Fernandez for his April 9 showdown with Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas.

The early-morning jogs and games of basketball Pacquiao played at his covered court did a lot to maintain his stamina and footwork, said Fernandez.

Pacquiao told Zonio that he missed sweating it out at the gym.

The eight-division world champion also said he wants to get back his rhythm and the feel of serious boxing quickly.

Roach said he intends to make Pacquiao work harder at the gym until early next month, when they fly out to Los Angeles for the second half of training camp at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollyood.