Pacquiao at 70% a month before Cotto title fight

Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao admitted he’s only at 70 percent condition for his Nov. 14 duel with Boricuan bomber Miguel Cotto but guaranteed he would reach his peak in the last four weeks of training. “Marami pang dapat gawin sa training at sa aking pakiramdam ay marami pang puwang upang lalong gumanda ang aking kundisyon sa laban. Kahit na wala naman akong problema sa timbang, sa tingin ko ngayon ay nasa 70 percent pa lang ako sa pagkahanda," he wrote in his Kumbinasyon column for Abante and PhilBoxing.com. But there’s no reason to panic, the “PacMan" assured. “Ayos lang iyan dahil hindi naman tamang mag-peak ako nang maaga dahil hindi maganda iyon (reaching peak early)," he said.

The 30-year-old Pacquiao is in the thick of training at the Shape Up gym in Baguio City. He has so far sparred 38 rounds, alternating with Urbano Antillon, undefeated Shawn Porter and the latest new addition at the camp, former world champion Jose Luis Castillo. Pacquiao is thankful that the rains and flood brought about by the recent typhoon "Pepeng" (Ketsana) have stopped, allowing him to continue with his roadwork at the Summer Capital of the Philippines. At the height of the storm, Pacquiao took to doing the treadmill and swimming. The reigning pound-for-pound king now looks forward to intensifying his workout and sparring sessions as training camp enters its fifth week. “Sa mga darating pang araw ay madaragdagan na ang bilang ng sparring rounds habang patindi na ng patindi ang training," he said. Team Pacquiao, headed by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, assistant Buboy Fernandez and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, will continue to hold camp at the City of Pines until next week before leaving for the US on Oct. 24. The Pinoy champ will spend the next two weeks at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles (until Nov. 8) before winding up their buildup in Las Vegas the week before the fight. - GMANews.TV