Roach links up with Manny

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach arrived under cover of darkness yesterday and jumped into a waiting van that took him straight up to Baguio.

Roach flew in from Los Angeles at 5:30 in the morning, and moved on for the 250 km to trip straight from the airport.

Team Pacquiao insider Joe Ramos accompanied Roach. It took them seven hours to get to Baguio after only two brief stops.

Also with them was Venezuelan lightweight Jorge Linares who is gearing up for an Oct. 15 fight.

While he’s here, Linares will serve as Manny Pacquiao’s sparring partner.

By the time Roach and company checked in at the Cooyesan Hotel along Naguilan Road, Pacquiao was getting ready to train.

Roach wasted no time, and went to the gym, located on the second floor of the hotel, to work the mitts with the boxing superstar.

“He was still in jeans. The clothes he wore as he came in were the clothes he had on while he trained Manny,” said Ramos.

Local mediamen were barred from entering the gym, and it could stay that way for the remainder of Pacquiao’s stay in Baguio.

Roach loves to train Pacquiao behind closed doors, even when they’re at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.

It’s only on Saturdays that Roach normally lets people in, or when there’s an official media or public workout.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao started his high altitude training Tuesday morning with road runs at the Burnham Park.

Spending 21 minutes on the road and mid crunches in between, Pacquiao said, he can quickly adjust to Baguio’s climate and head for the three-week training here before his battle with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  

Team Pacquiao especially aired concern over Baguio’s traffic woes especially along Naguillan Road where the team is housed and the now busy Sta Lucia Golf and Country Estates.

The road repairs along Naguillan Road has diverted Baguio-bound traffic to the circumferential road passing by Sta. Lucia Estates where Pacquiao runs in the morning before gym workout.”

The Sta. Lucia properties has provided Pacquiao perfect uphill road runs while flat surface jogs are set at the Burnham Park.

Pacquiao immediately starts gym work-out at the Cooyesan Hotel gym Tuesday afternoon, though more serious mitt punches come when Freddie Roach arrives.

For the third time, Team Pacquiao arrived here Monday night to help train the fighting congressman who is facing Marquez for the third time.

The Saranggani representative is considered an 8-1 favorite to repulse Marquez, who battled the Filipino to a 12-round draw the first time they met in May 2004 and absorbed a split decision in the rematch in March 2008.

The third fight will be at a catch weight of 145 lbs with Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization welterweight crown on the line.

The Summer Capital has become a part of the Pacman’s training attributed by the cool climate and the high altitude, which have contributed to his excellent physical conditioning.