Manny Pacquiao to do all training for Brandon Rios in his native Philippines

Manny Pacquiao typically trains at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood, which is home to his trainer Freddie Roach. Sometimes Pacquiao will start training in his native Philippines, then come to Wild Card for the last month to six weeks.

However, Roach told this newspaper Thursday that Pacquiao will do all his training in the Philippines for his Nov. 23 fight against Brandon Rios (on HBO pay-per-view). That’s because the fight venue, the Venetian Resort Casino in Macao, China, is not far from the area of the Philippines in which Pacquiao will train.

“We have to consider the jet-lag issue,” Roach said. “Macao is only an hour and a half away (by plane).”

Roach said he didn’t relish the idea of being away from his gym for an extended period of time, but that this is what’s best for Pacquiao, who is coming off a devastating sixth-round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez this past December in Las Vegas.

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Two-time gold-medal winner Zou Shiming back on July 27 on HBO

Zou Shiming of China has won back-to-back gold medals in the Olympic Games. But he’s 32 and has just one professional bout, so time is of the essence for him.

Shiming made his pro debut April 6 with a unanimous decision over Eleazar Valenzuela at Venetian Casino & Resort in Macau, China. Shiming will be back there July 27 when he takes on Jesus Ortega (3-1, 2 KOs) of Mexico in a six-round flyweight bout that will act as the main event on a card that features two world-title bouts (on HBO).

Shiming is promoted by Top Rank Inc. and trained by Freddie Roach, who this week talked about what he wants to see from Shiming.

“I was very pleased with how quickly Shiming learned what I was teaching during our first training camp and he is the hardest worker in the gym,” said Roach, who owns the Wild Card gym in Hollywood. “This time our main focus will be on getting him to punch harder. Shiming will need to learn how to sit down on his punches to maximize their power.”

 

 


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