HIGHLIGHTS: Pacquiao-Rios Fight Week Day 2

MACAU – Day 2 of Pacquiao-Rios Fight Week in Macau took a peculiar twist when Pacquiao head coach Freddie Roach got into a tussle with the Rios camp. Below is a chronological sequence of the day’s events.

5:30 AM: We arrive at the Pacquiao suite.

7:15 AM: Manny Pacquiao comes out of his room. Team Pacquiao is waiting. We were told that Pacquiao was scheduled to run at a local track. Pacquiao is greeted by his coach Freddie Roach. He goes over the day’s papers and shares a few laughs with Roach and assistant coach Buboy Fernandez.

7:30 AM: Also waiting for Pacquiao is a team from Switzerland-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. Manny complies with the spot check and submits a urine sample. He then decides to work out inside his suite.

7:45 AM: Pacquiao begins a 30 minute run on a treadmill inside his suite. Among the amenities in his suite at the Venetian Macau is a workout facility complete with massage room, steam room, and treadmill.

8:20 AM: Pacquiao moves to his living room where he does a round of shadow boxing and a complete ab workout. He ends his workout with a prayer.

9:00 AM: We speak with Top Rank rep Ric Sierra. We’re told Brandon Rios is scheduled to train from 9am to 11am but is expected to arrive late due to an ESPN interview.

9:50AM: We arrive at the private gym, set up at the basement of the Venetian Macau. There is only one gym, and practice time is split up between the two fighters. Rios is booked till 11am, Pacquiao is booked from 11am to 4pm. When we arrive Rios is walking around and hasn’t begun.

10:00AM: Rios is stretched by his conditioning coach Alex Ariza. Ariza was once Pacquiao’s conditioning coach but was fired from the team following disagreements with Freddie Roach. We overhear Rios telling Ariza, “I’m afraid.” Ariza responds, “Don’t worry this is going to be the easiest 48 hours of your life.”

10:10AM: Rios is in the ring. The mood is playful. Latin music blasts in the background. Everyone is in a jolly mood echoing the party atmosphere in the make-shift gym. He proceeds to warm up and work on a few exercises meant to improve on his power. He is noticeably slower than Pacquiao but shows good strength.

11:00AM: Rios is jumping rope. We interview his coach Robert Garcia. Garcia tells us they’re going for a knockout and that Manny has everything to lose and Rios everything to gain.

11:07 AM: Freddie Roach approaches Garcia and tells him that their time is up. Tensions rise as Roach uses an expletive, and a fiery Rios camp fights back. The tussle gets physical when Ariza kicks Roach in the abdomen. Rappler films the incident. Media scrambles for interviews.

Robert Garcia in reaction to the incident tells us, “the result in the ring is what matters to me.”

11:25 AM: We speak with Brandon Rios. He laughs off the incident and says it won’t affect his performance in this Sunday’s fight. He promises fans that they will see a, “Brandon Rios like they’ve never seen before.”

11:45 AM: Roach’s assistant Marie Spivey asks the media to leave the gym. We comply.

12:30 PM: We bump into Bob Arum at the Media Center. He tells us that in his history as a promoter he has yet to come across a confrontation between rival coaches that gets physical.

2:00 PM: Manny Pacquiao arrives at the gym and begins training.