Disciplined Pacquiao juggles dual roles entering Vargas bout
— -- LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao has earned hundreds of millions of dollars over his legendary boxing career, yet he is still working two jobs.
He is a professional prizefighter, one of the all-time greats in the storied history of the sweet science, having won world titles in a record eight weight divisions from flyweight to junior middleweight. And he is also a senator in his native Philippines, having won a seat in the 24-person national body in May, a month after he announced his retirement from boxing following a stellar performance in a lopsided decision win against Timothy Bradley Jr. in their third bout.
Pacquiao announced the retirement because as part of his campaign he promised his countrymen that he would dedicate himself fully to his government job and never miss any sessions to work on the people's business. As a member of the Filipino congress prior to the senate run, he was heavily criticized for his lackluster attendance record and scant accomplishment.
While Pacquiao was enjoying his senate work, he also missed boxing. He missed the gym and the camaraderie he found there. He also admitted that he wanted to keep collecting fat purses so he could continue to give away vast amounts of his wealth to those less fortunate.
So it came as no surprise when just five months after beating Bradley in April, he announced that he would unretire. He will return to challenge welterweight world titleholder Jessie Vargas on Saturday night (Top Rank pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas after spending most of his training camp in Manila, where he split time between his senate work and training.
He trained in the morning and at night and worked by day in the senate, where he sits on 15 committees and is deeply involved in numerous pieces of legislation, including a controversial one -- the restoration of the death penalty in the Philippines.
While he has been getting things done in the senate, it remains to be seen if his boxing will suffer from working two full-time jobs. Nobody will know that until the fight, but Pacquiao said he quickly adjusted to the rigorous schedule.
"It took discipline to manage my time effectively, to balance my training camp and my senatorial duties," Pacquiao said. "I feel good. Every day I was able to get in all my training. I ran every morning and did my strength and conditioning with Justin Fortune. I worked with [trainer] Freddie [Roach] every evening at the gym after work. There were some days where I would have to come in later if my work in the senate demanded I stay longer.
"Between the two jobs, I was averaging 14-hour workdays. Luckily the gym was very close to the senate so I didn't have to deal with traffic. I had no real free time to be with friends. I can say that working in the senate is not easy, especially, along with training. All of my time is with working and training."
Roach, Pacquiao's trainer since the day he walked into his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, looking for a new cornerman after arriving in the United States in 2001, said Pacquiao handled the double duty of boxing and government work with aplomb.
"It was a pretty tough schedule in this camp, but he held up really well," Roach said. "The sparring days were really good and it's the best I've seen Manny in a long time. He is a lot more aggressive than I have seen him in the past, and there was a lot of the old Manny Pacquiao coming out, and he really, really looked good.
"I know it has been a very difficult camp with the senate and so forth. Manny has always been a busy person, but because of the senate he seems to be a lot more serious than anything else he has done. He [was] in senate sessions on some nights until 7:30 or 8 at night and when he is done, we go right to the gym."
Pacquiao admitted it was a grind at times.
"They are both hard," he said. "At the of the day in the senate, I am exhausted mentally and when I get to the gym and have to work hard, and after that I am exhausted physically, so I have to rest."
The toughest part of the dual jobs is time management.
"The most difficult part is trying to control my time and to manage and discipline myself," Pacquiao said. "The most difficult part of training in the past has always been when I do a bad job of managing my time. This time I managed my time and disciplined myself from going to my work to my training, and that's what I did in the Philippines. I don't have any time to spend with my friends -- just time for hard work."
The reason the fight is scheduled for Saturday is because the senate is in recess. He spent most of his camp in Manila. It was only when the senate went into recess that Pacquiao, Roach and the team returned to Wild Card for two weeks of training before hitting Las Vegas this week.
Pacquiao will be on a plane back to Manila on Sunday night and plans to be at the senate on Tuesday (and maintain his perfect attendance record) when it goes back into session.
Senator Pacquiao intends to attend the opening session with another title, that of world champion again.
"I am fighting for history," Pacquiao said. "I was the first sitting congressman to win a world title. For this one, it is not enough to be the first sitting senator to fight for a world title. I want to be the first senator to become world champion. For me, that would be quite an accomplishment.
"I want to prove that I am still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. I feel I still have a lot to prove. I am not done with boxing. I will continue to keep fighting as long as I love boxing and boxing still loves me. I do not feel old. I feel like I am still 27."
Pacquiao may feel 27, but he is 37 and yet a heavy favorite to reclaim a belt he once held when he takes on Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs), 27, of Las Vegas, who will be making his first defense of the vacant title he won by ninth-round knockout of then undefeated contender Sadam Ali in March.
"We have three different plans for Jessie Vargas," Pacquiao said. "My first concern is for the fans; that the people who are going to watch the fight will be happy and satisfied. I want this to be a fight for fans to remember.
"I do not underestimate Jessie Vargas. He is a good, strong champion. You cannot fight at this level and be successful by underestimating your opponent. Every opponent gets my full attention and respect. I respect Jessie and that is why I trained hard. This is the most important fight because it will determine the direction of my boxing career. I need to win convincingly."
Whatever happens in the fight, Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs) seems to have more of a sense of joy about boxing now than he had for recent fights, but he is also deeply passionate about his government work.
"In boxing, the fight in the ring is for the enjoyment of the fans," Pacquiao said. "In the senate, the fight is for improving the quality of life of the Philippine citizens. Being a senator is inspiring work.
"I enjoy politics because I do not have a hidden agenda. I serve honestly. That's a good thing for me because I'm not ashamed to tell the truth. I'm not ashamed to rebuke someone if they are doing wrong. Government is for serving the people, not for serving oneself."
But Pacquiao also still thoroughly enjoys boxing, one of the reasons his retirement was so brief.
"Absolutely, I am still enjoying boxing," he said. "That is why I am continuing my career and I am also enjoying my time in the senate while I am doing my job. I am enjoying both."
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