"Everything's really good, man. We had our best day of sparring. We did another 11 rounds today. He just looked really good. I thought he'd be burned out after 11 rounds, but he was just like, 'No, I want to get right into my strength training.' I was like, 'Wow!' So Manny's in his groove. I like it...this time, it's a whole different ball game. Even Freddie says he looks really good, you know? His speed was there, the timing was there today, he found his range, his conditioning is definitely there, and like I said, he's still holding weight, which is a big big thing for me," stated strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who gave us the latest update on Manny Pacquiao as he continues preparations for his May 7th showdown with "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Check out what he had to say about Freddie Roach's return, how sparring has been going, and much more.
BT: What's up Alex? So give me the weekly update. How's everything going?
AA: Everything's really good, man. We had our best day of sparring. We did another 11 rounds today. He just looked really good. I thought he'd be burned out after 11 rounds, but he was just like, "No, I want to get right into my strength training." I was like, "Wow!" So Manny's in his groove. I like it.
BT: How's he looking physically as far as his weight is concerned?
AA: Still holding at 153. I'm kind of surprised because usually this is where we start to lose the little bit of ground that we gained. This is the same spot that we were in when we fought Cotto. We got to this spot a couple of times during the Margarito fight and he said he felt sluggish; he felt he wasn't as quick and his timing wasn't there, but, you know, he just has a different mindset right now, so either he's just pushing through it or he just has a completely different attitude.
BT: At this point in camp for the Margarito fight, where was he at physically compared to where he's at now?
AA: At that time, we had abandoned all the strength stuff and all the stuff that I use to put on that weight to try to give him that more denser body and physique. I just thought he was too small. He was quick and he was fast, but physically, he just looked skinny, you know? But this time, it's a whole different ball game. Even Freddie says he looks really good, you know? His speed was there, the timing was there today, he found his range, his conditioning is definitely there, and like I said, he's still holding weight, which is a big big thing for me.
BT: Was that Manny's decision to scale back on putting on size for the Margarito fight?
AA: It's always his decision at the end, but, you know, sometimes Freddie and I are going to be on one side of the fence and then you have the people that are just going to agree with him on the other side.
BT: So this time around, Manny actually believes that it will be more beneficial for him to put on more size to deal with Mosley?
AA: Yeah, I mean, it's no secrect everybody likes to think that Manny's weak to the body, but he told me that when he fought Cotto and when he had that bigger body, he couldn't feel any of Cotto's shots, but he did feel Margarito's.
BT: Freddie's back in camp now, right?
AA: Freddie's back, yeah. Yesterday [Monday] was his first day back.
BT: Is there any difference at all in Manny now that the captain of the ship has returned? Does Manny have a little more pep in his step?
AA: Of course, you know, they got right to the mitt work yesterday and they put out like 12 or 13 rounds I think. They got right into it. Freddie was jetlagged as hell, I'm sure, but they didn't skip a beat. They just got right into it exactly where they left off.
BT: So what's the plan for this week? With less than three weeks left to go, when will Manny start tapering off and start losing the rest of that weight?
AA: That's funny because I just talked to Freddie about that. We are a little bit ahead of schedule so Freddie was kind of sitting there thinking; I know I want to adjust what I'm doing. As he's starting to pick up his rounds, I'm going to start tapering off on the conditioning and then when the rounds come back down, I'll start to pick it back up so we have that smooth balance. Freddie said he might touch 12 rounds this week and then just start bringing it down on Monday or next Tuesday. The goal is to hit 12 rounds at some point this week. I don't think Freddie really wanted to log in so many rounds, so just hit his 12 and then start focusing on getting sharp, the timing, and staying that way. You know, when it's 14 days out, it's perfect to come down and let the body start the recuperation period.
BT: It's hard to believe that the fight is already right around the corner.
AA: Man, it's kind of funny because I was just sitting here thinking that it wasn't that long ago that I was just packing to go to the Philippines. Now here we are. Manny said to me this morning on the way to the gym, he was like, "Two weeks left, bro." I was like, "I know." Manny doesn't count the week of Vegas; fight week.
BT: Before I let you go, what's the latest you've been talking about on your blog over at MPBoxing.com.
AA: I did something on breathing and breathing techniques. People are always thinking that fighters go through boxing matches breathing through their nose. It's almost impossible to do that. That's why I like swimming so much because you learn to be rhythmic with your breathing from mouth to nose as opposed to nose to mouth. Once that heartrate starts to get into that 170 and 180 mark, it's just really almost impossible. I've seen a few, very few fighters that are able to literally keep their mouths closed all the way through a boxing match, but it's a very very limited few, man. It's better to learn to teach your body to breathe mouth to nose because eventually your going to get into that position that you don't want the reverse to happen where you find yourself panicking for air and you get more exhausted and burnt out. So I always teach the opposite. Check out my blog to find out more about that.
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