Manny Pacquiao runs from the streets to the top

Mammy Pacquiao has emerged from the shadow of giants to become a leviathan of his own.

The Australian’s Brent Read, left, keeps up with Manny Pacquiao on his neighborhood run in Manila yesterday. Picture: Chris Hyde

The champ is off and running. Dressed in grey basketball shorts and a white shirt t-shirt which boasts “I know a warrior named Pacquiao”, the WBO welterweight champion of the world sets a brisk pace. The stragglers are quickly left behind.

Pretty soon, the only people in Manny Pacquiao’s shadow are one breathless member of the media pack, his brother Bobby and his private basketball coach, Mermann Flores.

Flores met Pacquiao 11 years ago during a game of pick-up ­basketball on an underground court below a church in Los ­Angeles. He is now his private skills coach.

Talk to those close to Pacquiao and you get the feeling he would rather be on a basketball court. He owns a team in The Philippines and often plays. A point guard of some note, according to Flores.

Basketball is currently on the backburner as he prepares to meet Brisbane schoolteacher Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium on July 2. A crowd of over 50,000 is ­expected to attend, including the regular staple of Hollywood ­celebrities.

Dispatches suggest Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Henry Winkler — the Fonz himself — could be in attendance. So too boxing luminaries Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Pacquiao has emerged from the shadow of giants to become a leviathan of his own. Hard work has been the secret, a desire born out of a childhood on the streets. The streets he calls home today — in a gated community about 20 minutes out of central Manila — are largely empty.

Occasionally, a resident yells out words of encouragement and Pacquiao gives them a wave. One lap, or 2.5km complete, the final member of the media entourage drops off and Pacquiao is in his own world.

This is his daily ritual. Has been for most of his professional career. Some days two laps, others three. Today, he opts for a leisurely 5km, completed in 23 minutes. He isn’t done. Far from it. He walks through the gates of his mansion and sits on the steps. Sweat runs off him in the stifling humidity. A member of his entourage races up and rubs him down with a towel.

Pacquiao then provides members of the Australian media with a rare insight into his private and training life. He opens the gates to his $18 million property and begins his plyometrics training. On the driveway outside his front door he uses a rope ladder to improve his footwork.

Flores is holding an elastic rope which is strapped around Pacquiao’s waist to increase the resistance.

VIDEO: Running with Manny

Pacquiao’s speed is one of his strengths. He has used it to dominate the sport for more than a decade, winning 11 world titles in the process.

Even now, at the age of 38, his work ethic remains feverish. His latest title goes on the line in less than seven weeks against Horn, a fight Pacquiao is expected to win. Next week, he will intensity his build-up when his trainer Freddie Roach arrives from Los Angeles.

This week, he is working at a leisurely pace. Leisurely, at least by his standards. He opens the front door to his home and ushers us inside. He lays down three yoga mats in the hall and begins his stomach work.

The room next door serves as his office. On his desk is a general’s hat inside a glass case which was presented to him for his ­services to the country. A chess set sits in the corner. Pacquiao loves chess. His house is filled with chess boards, although the one in the next room is missing pieces which have been taken by his children.

“It is good mentally to exercise your mind,” Pacquiao says.

Another cabinet houses a number of artefacts including the remnants of a sword. A plaque says the sword is “from the time of Jesus”.

A pair of dolls are on one of the shelves. The figurines are of ­Pacquiao and American Floyd Mayweather, the fighter he met two years ago in a bout which ­generated $US500 million.

With long-time friend and trainer Buboy Fernandez holding his feet, Pacquiao churns through 1300 sit-ups. He will complete another 1300 this afternoon, a habit he developed at the start of his professional career.

From next week, he will ­double his output. More than 5000 sit-ups each day.

“Today is not heavy — it is light,” he says. “We’re not in hard training yet. Maybe next week will be hard.”

Pacquiao juggles his boxing commitments with his politics. He has been an inspiration for his country but he also wants to be an agent of change.

His latest project is to create a boxing commission in The Philippines to protect fighters. There have been too many deaths which could have been avoided had the sport been properly regulated.

“It is about the creation of a Philippines boxing commission,” he says. “That is my goal. There has been some boxers who have died. I want to create that commission so they can supervise all those boxers. A lot of friends of mine have been injured in boxing.”

Contrast that with his chosen profession as a boxer. Pacquiao has made a living — a lucrative one at that — out of dishing out punishment. His style is all-action and relentless. He hasn’t knocked anyone out for nearly a decade but his boundless energy has ensured that while the KOs have stopped, the victories haven’t.

Few expect Horn to trouble a man who has won titles across eight divisions. Pacquiao is ready to dish out some punishment.

“I am a Christian but this is a sport,” he says. “It is nothing personal. I am just doing my job, to injure people. Nothing personal.”