Manny Pacquiao begins sparring in preparation for Mayweather
Manny Pacquiao began sparring on Tuesday under the watchful eye of Freddie Roach as he continues to prepare for Floyd Mayweather.
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After weeks of trash talking, a massive press conference, wood chopping, and shadowboxing in the streets, both fighters participating in the Fight of the Century have finally starting sparring. It was already reported earlier this month that Floyd Mayweather had commenced working with -- and knocking out -- his sparring partners. And now, as reported by ESPN, Manny Pacquiao began sparring on Tuesday at Wild Card Boxing Club -- owned by trainer Freddie Roach -- in Hollywood.
According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, Pacquiao sparred for a total of five rounds against Edis Tatli and Kenneth Sims Jr. As fighters, Tatli boasts a 24-1 record and Sims Jr. is 5-0 in his short career.
"My sparring partners gave me good work today," Pacquiao told ESPN. "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 today."
Earlier this month, Pacquiao spoke about that strategy, without delving into any specifics of course.
"If it's defense he will be relying on when we face each other, I can say this early that I'm ready to meet him in that department," Pacquiao told PhilBoxing.com at the time.
By now, it probably shouldn’t come as a shock that Roach didn’t hesitate to use this opportunity to continue his trash-talking ways, telling ESPN that he is "confident May 2 will be celebrated for years to come as St. Manny's Day -- the day he drove Mayweather out of boxing."
Roach also spent some time praising Pacquiao's workout, saying he was "happy" with the sparring session.
"Manny looked so fresh today," Roach said. "I'm very happy with what he showed me. You couldn't tell he had been away from the ring since the [Chris] Algieri fight in November. Manny is on fire in the gym."
Whether or not Manny's fire is enough to drown Mayweather's unbeaten record is still up for debate. And we're more than ready for that debate to begin.
