Manny Pacquiao is facing the biggest challenge of his career as he is set to collide with nemesis Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune said Pacquiao, who holds a 57-5-2 record with 38 knockout victories, looks unbeatable based on how he is dedicating himself in training, but he added that it will boil down on how the Filipino boxing icon will execute on fight night.
Fortune said that Pacquiao will only win if he will listen to Freddie Roach. The strength and conditioning coach said Roach knows Mayweather, who has a perfect 47-0 record with 26 knockouts, very well and the Hall of Fame trainer has the perfect fight plan to hand the reigning pound-for-pound king the first defeat of his boxing career.
"It's only Freddie who knows how to fight Mayweather and win," Fortune told reporters. "So, Manny should listen to the letter all the instructions of his chief trainer, not only during training period but, most importantly, given at the corner. This doesn't mean though that Manny isn't doing his job in the camp. Definitely he does."
Fortune also knows that following instructions and execution are two different things. But based on what he has been witnessing in training camp over the past several weeks, Pacquiao has been executing all things Roach is asking from him very well, which makes them confident of winning on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
"It's actually all a matter of listening and execution of what the instructions are," Fortune continued. "I'm happy to report though that for the past two months here in L.A., Manny has been all ears as far as obeying Freddie's instructions and he's been executing them well."
Pacquiao, who will defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight title in the super showdown, skipped two days of sparring sessions, but Fortune clarified that the Filipino champion is not being overconfident.
Roach gave Pacquiao a day-off from intense training on Tuesday to keep him fresh. The 36-year-old former pound-for-pound king missed another sparring session because underwent a random blood and urine testing, which was conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Fortune said that Pacquiao usually skips physical activities after blood testing. The conditioning guru insisted that there is nothing to worry about because Pacquiao has been "training like crazy" for the biggest fight of his career.
As for the current condition of Pacquiao, Fortune revealed "Pacman" is already in shape and will be in tip-top shape in the coming week in time for the May 2 showdown, which is expected to become the biggest fight in boxing history in terms of total revenue.
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