Valentine's Day will be a busy one for Manny Pacquiao, who plans to start his training for Timothy Bradley Jr. this Sunday, with his head trainer Freddie Roach also arriving on the said day.
Pacquiao is looking to end an illustrious 20-year career with a rubber match against Bradley on April 9 at the MGM Grand.
In a phone interview with The Manila Times, Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz, shared some details about the former eight-division champion's preparation for his potential swan song.
According to Koncz, Pacquiao already began training since he had a long layoff, but the formal training happens next week.
Pacquiao has not engaged in any boxing activity for more than half a year after getting his rotator cuff surgically repaired, following his fight with rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May. Now, with the shoulder fully healed, the 37-year-old boxing star is again back at it as he braces for a full training camp.
"Freddie [Roach] will be arriving here in General Santos on the 14th of February to supervise Manny's training and evaluate his present fighting condition. We are all confident that Pacquiao will win that fight. We always believe in his capability," Koncz also said.
Koncz added that they are going to be strict, like in the past, during the Filipino boxing icon's training.
The Manila Times also mentioned in its report that Pacquiao has eight weeks to train for Bradley, the first four weeks will be spent in General Santos City in the Philippines, and the last four will be held at the famous Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
Pacquiao can do more than just close his career with a victory over fierce competition; Bradley is the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion and the April bout is for the title.
However, it is not an easy task since Bradley is now under trainer Teddy Atlas, who made him a much aggressive fighter which was evident during November's bout against Brandon Rios.
