Manny’s power, speed awe Mexican sparmate

LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao, according to one of his Mexican sparring partners, will be very hard to beat when he climbs the ring against Erik Morales next week in Las Vegas.

"He moves quickly and is very, very effective. I know he’s fighting at 130 pounds but he punches like a middleweight," said David "Dangerous" Rodela Friday at the Wild Card Gym here.

Rodela, at 5-foot-9 and 140 lbs much taller and heavier than Pacquiao, just finished two rounds of sparring with the hard-hitting Filipino at the Wild Card Gym when approached by Pinoy scribes.

Pacquiao’s other sparring partner is Jorge Padilla, another Mexican who is just as tall and heavy as Rodela.

Rodela said what’s nicer about Pacquiao is his agility on the ring.

"He really has the speed to go with it. He moves from side to side, very in and out and very technical. And he wastes no punches. His condition? I’ve never seen anybody in this condition before.

"I know he’s going to win," added Rodela, a pro boxer with a ring record of six wins, a loss and two draws with four knockouts. He’s fighting as a super-lightweight, two divisions higher than Pacquiao.

Morales, according to Rodela, is just as good or even better when it comes to boxing skills.

"Morales is good and he has the distance but he’s more of a boxer. I don’t think he has the power to knock out Pacquiao. I know he has the skills to hurt but not to knock him down," Rodela added.

Any predictions?

"I don’t think there’s gonna be any knockdowns. I think it’s going to the scorecards. That’s my personal opinion. They both have the skills. But for me it’s Pacquiao." — Abac Cordero