There’s one thing that’s going to catapult Manny Pacquiao to the world title against Mario Barrios on 19 July.
It is the one thing that made him an eight-division world champion alongside his lightning-quick reflexes.
Former world champion Jerwin Ancajas spends almost the entire day in the presence of Pacquiao, who bids for the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight crown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“He can still do it,” Ancajas, who reigned as International Boxing Federation junior-bantamweight king for over six years.
“He still carries that punching power,” he added.
Ancajas is just one of the growing number of ringsiders who believe the WBC 147-pound title is going to change hands.
While many of those who say so are somehow aligned with Pacquiao, there are still those who feel the Filipino southpaw, who was just enshrined into the Hall of Fame recently, can actually pull it off.
Since Pacquiao arrived in the US on 19 May, he hasn’t missed a beat in training.
Actually, he did when he took a quick trip to New York for the induction but as soon as the program was over, he hopped inside a private jet and flew back to sunny California so he could resume training the following day.
He did show up for morning training and even reported for another round of workouts at the Wild Card Boxing Club in the afternoon.
He has been subjected to the same old training methods under conditioning coach Justin Fortune, remaining confident that he could handle the daily grind.
“The four years that I wasn’t fighting is doing me more good than harm,” Pacquiao said during a break from his apartment on Wilshire Boulevard.
“It allowed my body to rest and recover. Now I feel recharged and excited to undergo hard training. I miss it.”
His excitement over his comeback is obvious.
He runs side by side with young guns such as Ancajas and Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial and another ex-world champion, Mark Magsayo.
Even before he heads out of the gym, he spends a few minutes watching the training of the three and imparting his knowledge of the fight game.
Like on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) when he watched intently as Marcial was doing the pads with trainer Joven Jimenez.
Pacquiao even made his way back to the ring and demonstrated how to throw a three-punch combo and switch to the side to avoid any treacherous counters.
Truly, the fire is back and coupled with his paralyzing power, Pacquiao intends to shock the world once again.