Pacquiao kicks off U.S. training on Christmas Eve

MANILA, Philippines – Back in familiar confines in Los Angeles, Manny Pacquiao went to work in earnest on Monday, December 24 (December 25 in Manila).

He ran at Griffith Park in the morning and then worked out at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood in the afternoon, kicking off the hard grind of preparations for his first defense of the World Boxing Association welterweight crown against Adrien Broner on January 19 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Reinvigorated by Sunday’s training break, which the Pacquiao family used to attend service at Shepherd Church after arriving at LAX Saturday, Pacquiao woke up early Monday and led his team to the terrains of the sprawling part of Santa Monica mountains. 

There, Pacquiao, joined by son Jimuel, also did abdominal workouts, as captured by Steve Angeles’ You Tube channel, attracting a big crowd of joggers and fitness buffs.

Pacquiao then returned home for breakfast and took a nap, before going to the gym of his longtime trainer Freddie Roach to sweat it out in the afternoon.

He conferred with Roach, now designated as consultant, briefly before working out under the supervision of new chief trainer Buboy Fernandez and strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune.

Pacquiao first set foot at Wild Card 17 years ago for his bout against South African Lehlo Ledwada that eventually paved the way for him becoming the sport’s only 8-division world champion, 3-time boxer of the year, and Fighter of the Decade.

Now 40 years old, Pacquiao aims to further embellish his ring legacy by beating Broner.

And to do that, Pacquiao needs to whip himself into tiptop shape.

Fernandez and Fortune, whose teamup led to Pacquiao’s 7th-round stoppage of Argentine Lucas Matthyse in their title duel last July 15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are again charting his training regimen, with boxing Hall of Famer Roach expected to offer some pointers and suggestions.

Pacquiao has brought along wife Jingkee and their 5 children to the US. – Rappler.com