Pacquiao reaches peak form

MANNY Pacquiao of the Philippines flexes his muscles to signal his readiness for his World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title match with Lucas Matthysse of Argentina on July 15 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur. WENDELL ALINEA

GEN. SANTOS CITY – Manny Pacquiao sparred for five rounds while World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Lucas Matthysse doubled up his effort as the main combatants in the “Fight of Champion” enter the final stretch of their respective trainings.

Fighting for the first time since losing in a controversial bout to Australian bruiser Jeff Horn last year, Pacquiao looked calm and happy while beaming with optimism over his chances in his 11th world title fight on July 15 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.

But it’s not going to be easy as he is stacked against Matthysse, who is dead serious in coming up with a massive victory that will definitely send the fighting Senator into permanent retirement after 23 colorful years of boxing.

He is gunning his 60th career victory in a career where he lost seven times and forged a draw twice, highlighted by his sensational move in weight category from a lanky flyweight all the way to bantamweight and even super bantam.

Pacquiao sparred for two rounds with compatriot Jheritz Chavez and another three with unbeaten Australian lightweight George Kambosos as his training starts to taper down.

His chief trainer, boyhood pal Buboy Fernandez, thinks that Pacquiao already has enough training so they are shutting down the camp early to avoid burn out.

“He said he’s very happy in his training camp, especially that everybody in his team is Filipino,” said Fernandez.

“His conditioning coach, Justin Fortune, is very cooperative. He managed to bring back the fun atmosphere in training because everybody is helping each other.”

On the same note, the Argentinian camp appears to be trekking the same route as his camp also decided to shut down his sparring session on Saturday.

His trainer, Joel Diaz, was satisfied with his wards’ condition and speed and was convinced that his fighter is ready to fight at any given moment to retain his welterweight crown against the eight-division boxing champion.