Manny’s speed still a problem

LOS ANGELES - Manny Pacquiao may have a little more catching up to do when it comes to his speed.

This was the assessment made by his trainer Freddie Roach Thursday afternoon at the Wild Card Gym where Pacquiao staged a two-hour workout that consisted of eight rounds of sparring against three different boxers.

“His speed is not all there yet. But as he loses weight he’ll get better,” said Roach as if Pacquiao wasn’t fast, quick enough to impress those who watched the sparring session that was supposed to be held behind closed doors.

“I think he’s looking for the power a little bit,” added Roach who watched Pacquiao do two rounds with Julio Gamboa and three each with Carlos Tangaro and old hand Steve Quinones at the gym almost packed with Pacquio fans.

It was so hot and humid inside the gym as the temperature rose here in Los Angeles to the high 30s.

Roach was out of the gym the other day as he went down with the flu. Now he’s up and about, looking over Pacquiao.

“I feel a lot better. Manny had a little cold (last week) and I was working so close so he gave it to me.  When people who are sick would come to the gym I used to throw them out so I threw myself out the other day.

“I didn’t even come to his workout. Yesterday I was with Speedy Gonzales (his boxer) in Sacramento and we lost a tough fight. Now I’m back and I feel fine. Buboy (Fernandez) did a good job taking my place. He always does a good job,” he said.

Pacquiao worked heavily with his right hand during the session, using a double-jab-hook combination that often caught Gamboa to the head. He also tried a seldom-used hook-uppercut combination against his embattled partner.

Against Tangaro, who said his father is Puerto Rican and his mother Filipina, Pacquiao tried to toughen up his body, taking punches to the side and the mid-section. He took heavy, hard blows but always managed to laugh it off.

And with Quinones, a 37-year-old super-lightweight, Pacquiao tried a few more combinations which they believe should suit Diaz fine.

While Roach admitted that Pacquiao isn’t running at full speed yet, he said everything’s working out fine in training.

“Great. We did eight rounds today. He’s being a little playful but that’s fine. We’ll go down to six rounds on Saturday, and four on Monday. The footwork is what we’re really working on for this fight because we feel that the side-to-side motion will pose problems for Diaz,” he added.

Pacquiao, after Thursday’s eight rounds, has now logged a total of 130 rounds, with six more planned on Saturday and another four on Monday, the last day of sparring.

“We’ll have the WBC (World Boxing Counci-mandatedl) one-week weigh-in here on Saturday. He’s now at 139. He’s where he wants to,” said Roach.