Los Angeles (AFP) - Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao enjoyed a strong
first day of sparring Tuesday in preparation for his May 2 showdown
with unbeaten US rival Floyd Mayweather.
Pacquiao's workout at the Wild
Card Gym included five hard rounds with a pair of sparring partners. It
pleased trainer Freddie Roach as well as the Asian legend, who was
anxious to start swinging his fists at foes following nearly two weeks
of other training.
"After 13
days of strength and conditioning and boxing drills at Wild Card plus
weeks more of working out in the Philippines in February, it was great
to finally put on the headgear and spar," Pacquiao said.
"My
sparring partners gave me good work today. They were perfect for
testing the strategy Freddie and I have developed to beat Floyd
Mayweather. I was very happy with my stamina and speed."
Roach
was especially pleased with Pacquiao's form considering he had not been
inside the ropes since defeating Chris Algieri last November in Macau.
"Manny looked so fresh today.
I'm very happy with what he showed me," Roach said. "You couldn't tell
he had been away from the ring since the Algieri fight in November.
Manny is on fire in the gym."
Pacquiao,
a two-term Congressman from Sarangani province in the Philippines, is
57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26
knockouts entering their Las Vegas matchup, a fight fans have been
wanting to see for more than five years.
The much-anticipated showdown for the pound-for-pound global bragging rights is expected to break boxing revenue records
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