No limit to what Manny can do

MANILA, Philippines - Nutritionist and professional trainer Teri Tom said yesterday Manny Pacquiao is in a class by himself as far as work ethic is concerned and ruled out any problem in moving up in weight class to challenge WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this morning (Manila time).

Pacquiao scaled 138 pounds for the Ricky Hatton bout last May. He agreed to face Cotto at a catchweight cap of 145, refusing to push himself to the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. As a natural welterweight, Cotto has had to bring down his weight to make the limit. On the other hand, Pacquiao – now a natural lightwelterweight or 140-pounder – has had to pack more functional muscle to retain his power and speed at a higher weight.

Tom, a summa cum laude graduate from UCLA, admitted moving up in weight class is “always a potential problem” because of the danger in compromising speed and power. There is also the possibility of a fighter’s power not being as potent against bigger opponents.

“You have to monitor your fighter’s performance throughout camp but I don’t see it as an issue for this fight,” said Tom, a martial arts practitioner. “Manny seems faster than ever. It’s certainly not the norm and not what you’d expect from most fighters but as we know, Manny’s not just any fighter.”

Tom said Pacquiao is relentless when it comes to working out and his training regimen is Spartan-like.

“I’ve worked with some of the other fighters in Freddie Roach’s stable,” continued Tom. “Alex (Ariza) brings me in sometimes for Andrei Arlovski, Amir Khan and Vanes Martirosyan. Those guys work hard. Of course, I’ve had other professional athlete clients who were just lazy SOBs. Manny, though, is like a different animal altogether. The day he left (Los Angeles) for (Las) Vegas (last Monday), he sparred several rounds, went a few on the mitts with Freddie, hit the double-end bag, the speed bag, then shadow-boxed like a maniac for another half-hour. Oh yeah and then he practiced his jump shot.”

Tom said in all her years working as a professional trainer and nutritionist, she has never encountered anyone quite like Pacquiao.

“I’ve never seen anything like it and it’s like that all the time,” she went on. “Last week, these kids asked Alex how Manny’s calves got to be so big and Alex replied, ‘He’s always on his toes.’ He never stops bouncing. I’d say if anything, we sometimes have to beg him to give it a rest so his muscles have time to recover.”

Tom pointed to Ariza as the “mastermind” behind Pacquiao’s conditioning program. It was the 34-year-old Colombian who recruited Tom and isometric specialist Andrea Macias to join his strength and conditioning team for Pacquiao.

“Alexi is always thinking of ways to tweak exercises already in his tool bag for power and agility,” she said. “The guy went to medical school, y’know. He knows what he’s doing. Anyway, I wouldn’t say there was a different approach to this fight in terms of conditioning – just that Manny keeps improving. There seems to be no limits to what his body can do. The only one he can’t keep up with is Pacman!”          – J. Henson