ARIZA WORRIED THAT PACQUIAO IS PUSHING HIMSELF TOO HARD

Normally, trainers and strength and conditioning coaches tend to complain that fighters don’t train hard enough. But in the case of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao its just the opposite.

Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza told the Inquirer that while Pacquiao looks great “I just hope that he slows down a little bit. I’m really worried that he’s pushing too hard. He needs to be extra careful.”

Pacquiao sparred twelve rounds on Saturday, going six with welterweight Shawn Porter and three each with longtime sparring partners, lightweights Raymund Beltran (24-4, 16 KO's) and David Rodela (15-3-3, 6 KO's) who has a scheduled fight next week.

Ariza said “I think Pacquiao looks great man. He is really focused on this one and I don’t see tnhis fight going more than five or six rounds.”

The strength and conditioning guru who teamed up with celebrated trainer Freddie Roach some two weeks before Pacquiao scored a dominating 9th round stoppage to win the WBC lightweight title from David Diaz said Pacquiao has “too much pressure, too much power, his speed, his footwork. He looks very good.

Ariza said he has “never seen him like this for a long time.”

Even as he prepares for his WBO welterweight title defense against former three-time world champion Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 7, Pacquiao is excited about a career move of a different kind with the release of his CD single/DVD “Sometimes When We Touch.”

Pacquiao who sang the song in his TV appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show prior to his masterful conquest of the much bigger Antonio Margarito, Pacquiao used breaks during training to record the unforgettable, iconic ballad.

Pacquiao worked with the same production team that piloted the song to the top of the charts in 1977 with songwriter and original singer Dan Hill in his corner and producers Mathew McCauley and Fred Mollin

Initial reviews say Pacquiao “delivers a passionate performance that shows the warmth and courage in the boxer’s heart.” The CD/DVD will be available on April 28 at iTunes and Amazon.com while a preview is available on mannysings.com.

In a brief message to his millions of fans around the world Pacquiao said "you know I'm excited about the new album 'Sometimes When We Touch' with Dan Hill and I hope you are gonna like it."
                                                                                                                              -Ronnie Nathanielsz