THEY'RE HERE

Manny Pacquiao with his entourage and pet dog jack russel terrier named `Pacman while doing road work in Baguio Sunday

By Gerry Ramos

THE wrath of typhoon Ondoy welcomed Shawn Porter and Urbano Antillon upon their arrival in the country Sunday.

But an even bigger storm awaits them once they land in the City of Pines by Monday afternoon.

Sparring for Manny Pacquiao’s Baguio training camp is all set to roll as Porter and Antillon finally flew in from Los Angeles, California less than 24 hours after Ondoy dumped heavy rains and wreck havoc in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Due to inclement weather, the two American sparmates had to postpone their trip to the summer hideaway by one day as they were quickly whisked to a Quezon City hotel for a whole day rest.

They wouldn’t start sparring with the Filipino ring idol until Tuesday.

Bad weather condition also forced the 30-year old Pacquiao to put off his planned break in training to pay his last respect to the remains of former manager Rod Nazario.

Nazario died early Thursday following a year-long bout with lung cancer.

Pacquiao rested and didn’t train Sunday afternoon, but did road works in the morning at the Athletic Bowl and Burnham Park.

Accompanied by a throng of supporters, including conditioning coach Alex Ariza and his jack russel terrior dog `Pacman’, Pacquiao jogged around Burnham Park, after which, he bought grapes from vendors plying their trade around the famous tourist destination.

Following a quick shower at his unit at the Cooyesan Plaza Hotel in Naguilan Road, Pacquiao attended Sunday services at the Baguio Cathedral.

From there, he proceeded to Wright Park for some horseback riding, but put off his plan as rain began pouring. He later decided to just buy souvenir items at a local store.

Pacquiao and his entourage later had lunch at The Manor in Camp John Hay.

Meanwhile, trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao should work behind an intelligent fight on November 14 against Miguel Cotto, whom he describes as a `very complete fighter with very few flaws.’

“He’s very intelligent. He keeps his distance and timing pretty well. So we have to figure out way to throw that off,” he said.

“He’s in his prime. He’s a complete fighter.”

Roach also insisted on his earlier stand that it will be very hard to knock out the 28-year old reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion.

“We’re going in there looking for twelve hard rounds. You can’t look for the knockout with this guy because he’s very resilient,” said the three-time Trainer of the Year.