Boxers try to catch sleep from jet lag, tight sked

BEVERLY HILLS – Traveling thousands of miles from Manila to New York to Los Angeles to Mexico, through different time zones over the last four days is starting to take its toll on Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Good afternoon, good morning, good night,” Marquez, over the microphone, greeted those who attended Wednesday’s press conference at the swanky Beverly Hills Hotel. (Related story on A-34)

There was some laughter.

“From the Philippines, New York and here I don’t know what the time is,” added Marquez who must be begging for a decent sleep in this press tour announcing his Nov. 12 fight with Pacquiao.

Perhaps no one involved in this 25,000-mile tour has enjoyed any decent sleep the last few days. They’ve hopped from one plane to another, night and day, and in black SUVs for press conferences, interviews and photo shoots.

While Marquez flew in from NY a couple of hours ahead, Pacquiao and his tight crew of six managed to check in at the Beverly Hills Hotel past 3 a.m. of Wednesday, just in time for some “early breakfast.”

The elegant hotel lobby was quiet and empty when they came in.

Pacquiao was lying in his huge bed, tired and weary, having a massage, when he jokingly asked his adviser, Mike Koncz, if he could skip the Mexican leg off. “Of course, you can’t boss,” he was told.

It was lights out at six in the morning.

By mid-morning, Pacquiao got up for the press conference downstairs, and at around noon he walked into the packed Crystal Ballroom, behind Marquez, to meet the press and face the cameras.

Pacquiao squeezed very little time to be with his friends from LA right after the presscon then had to proceed to the Van Nuys hangar for his 6:30 p.m. flight to Mexico on board a private plane – an 11-seater Gulfstream.

Joining him in the three-hour trip were Top Rank’s Bob Arum, trainer Freddie Roach, publicist Fred Sternburg, lawyer Jeng Gacal, team assistant Roger Fernandez, Koncz and a couple of scribes.

They arrived in Toluca, Mexico at 1 a.m. and was brought straight to St. Regis Hotel. Checkout time is 7 a.m. in time for the day’s activities.

The Mexican leg, set at the historic Revolution Square, is at noon. “That’s how hectic this tour is, and if there’s one person who’s not complaining it’s Arum,” said the 79-year-old chief promoter.

Nothing is new to this Harvard lawyer, and by his rich memory he said the toughest press tour he’s had was that for the classic Hagler-Hearns showdown of 1985.

“We went to 26 cities in just 14 days. There were days we did three cities with two private planes,” said Arum of the back-breaker that had some waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where they were.

Arum was asked, “Do you ever get tired doing this?”

 “No. I can never get tired,” Arum said, his cheeks rosy as ever.