Pacquiao hits stride in L.A. workout

MANILA, Philippines - It’s time to close the doors to the gym.

“We let them in (in) Baguio. Now, we’re closing the doors for more private workouts,” said celebrated boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

Manny Pacquiao held his first workout at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles yesterday, and the days to come will only get tougher and tougher.

He trained for three weeks in Baguio, and each day was almost like fans’ day. Things are about to change at the gym owned by Roach.

Pacquiao will face the undefeated Timothy Bradley on June 9 in Las Vegas. Roach said Pacquiao is just halfway there, just 50 percent ready.

With less than five weeks left, Pacquiao is making sure he’d get there.

He started the day with a morning run from Griffith Park up to the iconic Hollywood Hills landmark, and according to Philboxing.com it was a terrific run.

Pacquiao managed to cut his personal best time in the 3.5 mile uphill course by a minute. Now it’s down to 22 minutes.

Then in the afternoon he drove to the famous gym just 10 minutes away from his $2 million home within Hancock Park.

Pacquiao did 10 rounds with the mitts, non-stop, and worked for more than an hour with the bags and his abdominal exercises.

“I’m glad to be back at Freddie’s gym,” said Pacquiao, who briefly talked about the recent clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather stayed undefeated (43-0) by beating Cotto and wresting the WBA super-welterweight crown from the wide-bodied Puerto Rican.

Pacquiao said it was a “good fight” but had nothing to say about Mayweather hinting of a second retirement.

“I have no opinion on Mayweather’s plans to retire. That’s his decision. (It’s) a very personal decision. I have no plans to retire. I still love what I’m doing,” he told Philboxing.com.

“Freddie and I had a good camp in the Philippines and we are ready to work very hard in preparation for Timothy Bradley. Bradley is strong, undefeated and young. I have a great deal of respect for his talents and his accomplishments,” Pacquiao added.

Roach said they’re slowly but surely getting to tip-top shape.

“We are on a steady pace to get Manny to where he will peak on June 9. We built a good base to build on in our training in the Philippines. Now it’s time for the hard work and the strategy.

“We had a good session today. Manny went a strong 10 rounds with me today on the mitts. He’ll sleep good tonight,” said Roach.