Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) didn’t have it easy. Born and brought up in poverty, the future Senator of the Philippines once lied about his age to get into professional boxing- to put food on his family’s plate.
Now at 42 years of age, the legendary “PacMan” has established himself as one of the greatest ever in the sport and has 12 world titles as well as lineal championships in five different weight classes credited to his name.
Famed for his speed agility, even at his age, Pacquiao recently opened up about some generous advice regarding the art of sparring, touching on some tips on how to make boxing an easier sport.
Manny Pacquiao is currently preparing for his upcoming bout against WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr, the fight which will take place on 21st August at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Coming from a nearly two years hiatus away from the squared circle, Pacquiao has been in rigorous training, and in a recent interview with philstar.com, opened up on some tips on how to perform better in the ring.
“To make boxing easier, do your best not to be flat-footed in training because what you do in training, you can adapt to the fight,” said Pacquiao, “The most important thing is to do in training twice or thrice more than you do in a fight.“
“If you do a combination of eight punches in training, you’ll probably do only two or three in a fight, but you’re ready to go all out,” the Filipino pugilist added. (H/T WorldBoxingNews)
Manny Pacquiao hints more than two titles at stake against Errol Spence Jr
Regarding the Spence fight, Manny Pacquiao hinted that not only the latter’s WBC and IBF belts, but more than the two world titles will be up for the grabs, a hint that the WBA’s “Champion in recess” may regain his “Super” status back, something that the organisation president as also suggested.
Manny Pacquiao was last seen in action against Keith Thurman on 20th July 2019. At that time, Pacquiao was the WBA’s “Regular” welterweight champion, while Thurman was the “Super” titleholder.
After defeating Thurman, he clinched the “Super” status, only to lose it due to inactivity during the COVID-19 pandemic last year to become the “Champion in recess”, while the “Regular” champion Yordenis Ugás was promoted to the “Super” status.
“It’ll be a good fight. A lot of world titles will be at stake,” said Pacquiao, “Spence is unbeaten, younger. But I’m confident I have the experience, speed, and power.”
“It was the same trend when I fought [Keith] Thurman. In the beginning, he was the favorite, but as people found out how I was training and saw my speed and power hadn’t changed, the odds reversed by the time the fight started,” the veteran boxer added.
