He said Manny Pacquiao is at 153 lb with eight days left to the fight but should have no problem at all making the limit of 147 for his defense of the WBO welterweight crown against Joshua Clottey in Texas.
Pacquiao has had no problem making weight since moving up to the welterweight class, first when he fought Oscar dela Hoya at 145, Ricky Hatton at 140 and Miguel Cotto at a catchweight of 145 lb.
In these three fights, Pacquiao moved so well inside the ring, beating all three of them by knockout, technical or otherwise, and Ariza said they’re employing the same formula against Clottey.
“Clottey is a bigger and stronger guy than Cotto and a lot of people said he beat Cotto. So, I asked Freddie when the camp started and he said the plan and the program we had for Cotto was ideal,” said Ariza.
“And there was no need to make changes. But we focused more on his strength training because of his size. Other than that everything was the same and identical,” said the expert who’d gone 4-0 with Pacquiao.
He came in before the David Diaz fight in 2008, and seemed to have worked wonders for the team. He’s made sure Pacquiao wouldn’t lose any of his speed as he builds up in muscle and adds up on his power.
“We focused on his strength training and building his body for it to hold the weight. We don’t want to come in below 147 for the weigh-in. Right now he’s at 153 but it’s no problem. He’s losing around three or four pounds after workout and gets it right back.”
Ariza said Pacquiao can easily make 147. All he needs is a good workout and skip a couple of meals.
Ariza said he wants Pacquiao to hit the right weight next Thursday in Dallas. It will be their last day at the gym and the following day will be the official weigh-in. On fight night, he said Pacquiao should be no heavier than 150.
“Nothing more than that. It’s the same formula. He both had speed and power so we don’t want to change anything. It’s working,” said Ariza.
“It’s business as usual,” he added.
Source: Abac Cordero | Philstar.com
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