MANNY PACQUIAO is proving the ball is still in his court aged 42, by keeping his incredible physique with ‘daily’ basketball games.
The boxing legend formerly played professional basketball in the Philippines as part of his training regime before he stopped in 2018.
But the 5ft 4in legend continues to shoot hoops for fun, as he defies age entering his 72nd fight still looking as ripped and ready to go as ever at 42.
And he will need to be as he attempts to dethrone unbeaten WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr, 31, on August 21.
As ever, Pacquiao has linked up with his long-time coach, Hall of Famer Freddie Roach in California, ahead of their 37th fight together.
But even now, Roach has to plead with the eight-division champion to give his ageing body much needed rest.
And that is one of the primary differences from the PacMan that first walked into his WildCard gym two decades ago compared to now.
In an exclusive interview, Pacquiao told SunSport: “I feel great. I am always active between training camps, which keeps me in good shape.
“I play basketball games daily which is great exercise. I listen to my body.
“If I feel that a day off from training will help my body recover, I will take a day off.
“And the next day, I feel good as new and am able to give everything Freddie asks of me in the gym.
“Freddie even encourages me to take more time in training. That is really the only change from when I was younger.”
Pacquiao first walked into Roach’s gym in 2001, and in their first fight together they won the super-bantamweight world title.
PacMan became a sensation overnight Stateside with his hand and foot speed dazzling those watching on.
Fast forward 20 years and he is just as devastating, as Roach struggles to split the difference between the Pacquiao he first met to the man we see today.
He said: “He’s pretty close to the same guy. His footwork is great, his hand speed and his power is very good.
“For the last two years I haven’t seen him, but he’s been sending me tapes of all his workouts and I sent back my thoughts on what he needs to work on and so forth.
“He still works out hard, his work ethic is really great and I’m getting the best sparring partners I can for Spence’s style.
“I had to get rid of one, who just wasn’t working out, he was too much of a runner and Spence is not a runner, he’ll stand and fight.
“But one thing about Manny Pacquiao – he’ll stand and fight back.”
Pacquiao will have been out the ring over two years by the time he challenges for Spence’s titles.
He has not returned since beating Keith Thurman, 32, on points in July 2019.
In the period since, his comeback fight has been postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, leaving him housebound in the Philippines.
But Pacquiao has been ramping his political campaign, leading up to a possible presidential bid in 2022.
“I am always active between training camps, which keeps me in good shape. I play basketball games daily which is great exercise. I listen to my body.
Manny Pacquiao on training aged 42
Rumour has it the boxing icon has just two fights left, before bringing a close to one of the most celebrated careers of all time.
Even the man himself cannot comment on how long he has left, but hinted at fighting Spence TWICE.
He said: “That is a good question to which I do not know the answer. Let’s see how this fight goes.
“I am not looking past Errol Spence. Who knows? Our fight might be so good the fans will demand a rematch.”
Pacquiao’s retirement also depends on a deal he has with Roach – but so far there is no danger of calling it a day just yet.
Roach said: “I made a deal with him ten years ago.
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“I said, ‘Manny, when you’re all done and I tell you it’s over, I want you to retire, I want no bulls***.
“I said, ‘I don’t want to see you get hurt in this game’. The other day he said, ‘Freddie, am I an old man yet?’
“I said, ‘No… not yet!'”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
