Amateur boxers draw inspiration from Pacquiao

The Philippine National Boxing Team was among the handful of people allowed entry into the closed-door training session of world pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in Baguio City. World-renowned trainer Freddie Roach acceded to the request of the Amateur Boxing of the Philippines officials Patrick Gregorio and Ed Picson, who motored to Baguio City to oversee the final preparations of the boxers leaving for the prestigious Tammer Cup in Tampere, Finland on Tuesday. Pacquiao had earlier assured ABAP officials that he would help in the training of our national boxers. "Having our boxers observe firsthand the work ethic and intensity Pacquiao brings to his training sessions is more than enough to inspire our boxers and give them an idea of what the keys to success are. I just hope these sunk in," commented Picson after Pacquiao's grueling 2 1/2-hour session at the Shape-Up Gym. Roach and conditioning expert Alex Ariza have also pledged to visit the ABAP training camp in Baguio City to share their training and conditioning drills and techniques with the nationals. "This can only redound to the benefit of our boxers. We thank Manny and his coaches for their enthusiasm in lending a hand to the team," said Gregorio. Boxers Victorio and Rey Saludar, Charly Suarez and Delfin Boholst leave on Tuesday for Finland for the prestigious Tammer Cup, which has lured 23 participating countries, mostly Europeans. "We want to be exposed to the European style because some of our opponents in the Asian Games like the Kazakhs and the Uzbeks have similar styles," added Picson. Annie Albania and Wilfredo Lopez will join them in November for the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China. - RCJ, GMANews.TV