Fortune says it’s back to old times

LAS VEGAS – There was a wide smile on Justin Fortune’s face in Manny Pacquiao’s dressing room shortly after the Filipino regained the WBO welterweight crown from Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila).

Fortune, 48, said it was like old times. For five years, he was Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach. But in 2007, Fortune parted ways after a dispute with trainer Freddie Roach on a fee split. It was a bitter ending to a productive partnership. Fortune and Roach nearly went to court to settle their differences.

With Fortune in the gym, Pacquiao stopped Erik Morales twice and knocked out Marco Antonio Barrera. He was brought in by Roach starting the Barrera fight in San Antonio in 2003. Fortune left after Pacquiao stopped Jorge Solis, also in San Antonio, in 2007. Fortune went on to open his own sweat shop about a 15-minute drive away from Roach’s Wild Card Gym.

When things went sour with Fortune’s successor Alex Ariza, Pacquiao asked Fortune back. Pacquiao had complained of recurring cramps and felt it was time to recall Fortune. Besides, Pacquiao was on a losing skid from two straight losses to Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Fortune said he couldn’t be happier reuniting with Pacquiao, Roach and Buboy Fernandez. “It was the old gang back,” the former Australian fighter, who once battled Lennox Lewis, said. And the win over Bradley brought back the magic of the four-man team.

“It was a dominant performance,” said Fortune, referring to Pacquiao’s convincing victory over Bradley. “Anytime you beat a champion of Bradley’s caliber, you deserve recognition. Bradley’s tough. You saw how he hung in there. Manny was in great condition. He complained of cramping in the sixth round. But when Manny began to take control starting the seventh round, I didn’t hear him complaining anymore. I would’ve wanted a knockout but you’ve got to give Manny credit for a dominant performance against a tough fighter.”

Fortune said he hopes to continue working with Pacquiao. “If he wants me to stay on, I will,” he said. “Manny had a great camp. He was happy and having fun even if he worked harder than ever. That’s how Manny is. If he’s happy, good things happen.”

Writer Eric Velazquez of muscleandfitness.com said Fortune put Pacquiao through “a battery of upper body and lower body plyometrics designed to maximize his total body power and quickness, two key ingredients in a knockout punch, by emphasizing fast-twitch muscle fiber.” Additionally, Velazquez said Fortune built up Pacquiao’s lower-body stamina. 

Pacquiao acknowledged Fortune’s inputs. “It’s been good to have Justin back,” said Pacquiao, quoted by Velazquez. “I feel very strong and my punches have an explosiveness to them that they have not had in a very long time.”

Fortune’s strength and conditioning regimen was intense. Pacquiao ran about four to five miles a day, sometimes in the hills of Los Angeles, all uphill, at a rapid pace. Fortune said even at 35, Pacquiao is faster than any fighter in his division. “Manny’s just a freak physically and fighters like him don’t come along very often,” said Fortune. “After he’s done, there won’t be another one like him for a long time.”