Manny Pacquiao passed his first major test when he strung up four rounds of sparring with the help of unbeaten prospect Samuel Contreras as the Filipino revs up for his 19 July world title challenge in Las Vegas.
“Perfect four rounds,” Pacquiao’s American point person Sean Gibbons told DAILY TRIBUNE from Los Angeles.
Gibbons said that in about 30 days, Pacquiao will be in peak form and ready to knock the World Boxing Council welterweight crown off Mario Barrios’ head at the MGM Grand.
“The sparring (session) turned out well,” barked training assistant Roger Fernandez, the brother of Buboy Fernandez who is presiding over the training camp in Hollywood.
Contreras will also be joined soon by another sparmate Saul Bustos, also standing 5-foot-11, as Team Pacquiao makes the Filipino eight-division legend get used to fighting tall and rangy guys like the six-foot Barrios.
In the coming days and weeks, the sparring cast will be beefed up by about two more.
“I am recruiting a couple of more guys and I am working on it but for now, this is good work,” added Gibbons, who is calling the shots in Pacquiao’s affairs.
Now in his third week of training, Pacquiao will pause a bit this weekend as he is going to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York, making him the fourth member form the Philippines after fighters Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde and promoter Lope “Papa” Sarreal.
That would be the only time Pacquiao is going to have a break from camp as he will head back to the West Coast upon the conclusion of the festivities in New York.
Pacquiao, 46, older than Barrios by 16 years, will be returning to the ring for a professional fight after losing to Yordenis Ugas of Cuba in August 2021.
Saying his almost four-year inactivity has actually helped him rest his body, Pacquiao insists there is still a lot of fight left in him.
And that is something Barrios will try to disprove on fight night.