Refocused Pacquiao sharp in training for Mosley bout

Pacquiao is in the final stages of preparation in Hollywood for his bout with Mosley on May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden, and the Filipino congressman hasn’t been so singularly focused on boxing for quite awhile.

“He hasn’t lost a step. He’s working at a higher pace than ever,” Roach said Wednesday in his Wild Card Gym. “He’s not in the same condition as the last fight. He’s in better condition than I’ve ever seen. He isn’t going to get caught underestimating anybody.”

Roach fretted about Pacquiao’s focus and fitness in a rocky camp heading into last fall’s win over Antonio Margarito, calling it the worst training session of their careers. Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) had just been elected to office, which added another responsibility to the usual pandemonium swirling around the Philippines’ most famous man.

This time around, Roach and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza have been downright floored by the eight-division champion’s determination to knock out Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs), who has never been stopped.

“It’s the complete opposite side of the spectrum this time,” Ariza said. “I’ve never seen Manny more motivated. I thought (the camp before Pacquiao’s victory over Miguel) Cotto was the perfect blueprint for a training camp, but this has surpassed it.”

On their first day of workouts, Pacquiao did his running in the mountains, skipping the usual warm-up days on the flats in Baguio, his Filipino base. He spent just three weeks training amid the innumerable distractions back home before starting his more monastic five-week session in Hollywood, reversing the schedule of last fall’s camp.

Pacquiao is solidly near the bout’s 147-pound limit, and his sparring sessions have already exceeded 12 rounds, with Roach marveling at Pacquiao’s sharpness and speed.

“When you take five or six months off like that, you get re-motivated,” Ariza said. “He found something in his DNA that motivated him again to get going. I think he had so much of the political stuff wearing him down last time that he didn’t have it in the ring. That’s not going to be a problem now.”

Pacquiao doesn’t acknowledge any special focus on this fight, but the congressman has been juggling more balls than most people could even carry for a long time now. He acknowledges needing an adjustment period to his legislative duties, which are getting easier to manage.

“I learned to rely on certain people to do my job,” Pacquiao said. “It’s different this time (around). I’ve been training, and I’ve set aside all work. … I never distract myself. I never think I was distracted. I was focused on the fight, focused on the training.”

Pacquiao still holds out the slightest hope Floyd Mayweather Jr. will end his self-imposed exile and step into the ring with him. The former champion hasn’t fought in nearly a year and has no plans on the horizon after turning down a megafight with Pacquiao and refusing to explain why.

“For me, there’s still a chance,” Pacquiao said. “It’s up to him if he wants to fight. I’ll just do my job and make the fans happy.”