Pacquiao trains in LA gym

By REY DANSECO, The Manila Times Contributor

Manny Pacquiao believes he is more comfortable training in the gym where he started his way to stardom.

Thinking his rematch against Erik Morales next month is the fight of his life, Pacquiao will not prepare in a secluded training camp in Phoenix, Arizona and instead will stay at the Wild Card Gym in the Hollywood area in Los Angeles, California.

"I like staying in L.A.," MaxBoxing.com reporter Steve Kim quoted Pacquiao as saying in what he described the way the Filipino icon speak "in his ever-improving English."

"Our decision was to train here in Hollywood, so that’s final," Pacquiao confirmed.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said Phoenix might offer several distractions to the former World Boxing Council flyweight and International Boxing Federation super-bantam champ compared with Hollywood, where they can control the throngs of his Filipino fans trying to get a glimpse of their ring idol.

"If we go to Phoenix, Arizona, they have pool halls there, they have casinos there, they have dog racing there and horse racing there; Manny’s comfortable here," Roach told Kim.

"He knows his way around a lil’ bit, he has some friends, and the thing is, he’s not going out partying and stuff like that. So Manny doesn’t need a babysitter, he knows what’s at stake here."

Roach explained he can easily pick up sparmates for Pacquiao and "everything we want right here."

Pacquiao is treating the January 21 return bout with Morales at Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas as "the biggest fight" and "very important" in his life.

"Oh, it’s big, it’s very big and important," said Pacquiao, who celebrated his 27th birthday Saturday with a small party along with Roach, his buddy Buboy Fernandez and his new management trio of Shelly Finkel, Keith Davidson and Nick Khan.

"I need to win this fight because everybody, all my countrymen are hoping for my victory and they believe I’ll beat him."

Meanwhile, in Queretaro City, Mexico, Morales has been wearing the same puncher’s glove -- Mexico’s Cleto Reyes -- that Pacquiao will use in their bout.

Morales, who usually wears Winning gloves, has made the switch to match Pacquiao’s punching power.

Morales is practicing under new trainer Jose "Maestro’’ Luis Lopez Sr., who replaced his longtime trainer and ailing father in the past three weeks. Their training camp will be until January 17.

"What he needs is power," said Lopez, 57. "The camp will be finished on January 17 and by then he will be a hundred percent [ready] to face Pacquiao."

When they both had Winning gloves, a brand made in Japan, Morales earned a unanimous decision win, with identical 115-113 scores from the three judges, over Pacquiao in March.

Pacquiao rebounded from that defeat by knocking out Hector Velazquez in the 6th round while Morales lost to Zahir Raheem on the same card on September 10 at Staples Center in Los Angeles

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