What’s it like to hold the mitts for boxing legend Manny Pacquiao? No one knows better than Freddie Roach, who has been training Pac Man since 2001, shortly after the young Filipino first walked through the doors of Wild Card Boxing in Hollywood.
Roach was recently outfitted with a GoPro helmet cam to give boxing fans a taste of being on the receiving end of Pacquiao’s still lightning-fast punching combinations.
As per usual, celebrities have been stopping by Pacquiao’s training camp to show support for the only eight-division world champion in boxing history. Sylvester Stallone, who famously created and starred in the Rocky movie franchise, hopped in the ring to pose for a photo with Pacquiao ahead of Pac Man’s Saturday-night fight with Jessie Vargas.
THE LEGEND VS THE CHAMP
Pacquiao retired after beating Timothy Bradley in May this year, but now the 37-year-old is returning to the ring to contest for for the WBO World Welterweight title held by Vargas. Vargas claimed the vacant title in March with a TKO win over Sadam Ali.
Pacquiao has had to balance time training for the fight with his work as a senator in the Philippines — a responsibility he takes seriously. He serves on more than 20 committees, including one investigating the extra-judicial killings of alleged drug dealers.
Naturally, Pacquiao serves as the chairman of the Committee on Sport, in which capacity he had the pleasure of feting Olympian Hidilyn Diaz who won the silver medal in weightlifting for the Philippines.
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