Chatting with MP’s Strength & Conditioning Coach

All eyes will be on a certain Filipino Congressman this Saturday night as Manny Pacquiao squares off against “Sugar” Shane Mosley in Las Vegas, the Mecca of all marquee matchups.

But then again all eyes have lasered in on the eight-time champion, who trains out of Hollywood’s Wild Card gym, for several years now, especially after victories over Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera, among many others. This will be Manny’s first fight of 2011 and the intense focus on the diminutive speed demon continues to rise to a frenzied pitch.

But there is one man whose job it is to keep focus on Pacman’s conditioning, nutrition, diet and strength programs; one man who works with the power-punching southpaw, known for his stamina, speed and those sturdy calves.

That man is Alex Ariza, Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, and the guy who keeps a steady watch on the global icon while working with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.

I recently had a chance to chat with this integral member of Team Pacquiao just as the L.A. camp was getting underway. While the Pacman squad was still in Los Angeles, I met up with Ariza at a news conference at the Staples Center. Back in April and still in Los Angeles, Alex was there with Roach and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., as their June 4 fight against Sebastian Zbik was being announced.

With all the back and forth bickering between the Floyd Mayweather Jr. camp in regards to having Manny and “Money” meet in the ring, Ariza’s profile and reputation was pushed to the forefront. Reports were that Team Mayweather requested Olympic-style blood testing and Pacquiao was willing to undergo the tests to prove once and for all that he’s not on steroids or any other performance-enhancing drugs.

While that bout has yet to happen, this Saturday Pacquiao will meet “Sugar” Shane in center ring live on Showtime Pay-Per-View.

And according to Ariza, Manny will not only be ready but will have a “big” night on May 7 against the veteran champ from Pomona.

Listen in on my chat with Ariza as he talks about being in Pacquiao’s corner.

After training in Sinaloa, Mexico with Chavez and the Philippines with the Pacquiao camp, he was happy to be back (and to have Manny back in L.A.), excited about having his own training and diet blog on Manny’s official site (which also just launched Pacman’s own new online social network at Mp8.ph), and is looking forward to working with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as well. He also predicts another stellar performance from the pound-for-pound titan in the ring.

Michele Chong: Hi Alex. So you’ve been documenting the training Manny’s been doing for the Mosley fight?

Alex Ariza: Yeah, it’s a strength and conditioning blog too–it’s all about everything ’cause we had sooo much stuff coming about the steroids and stuff that Manny said, “Hey, I’m gonna give you a blog; I want you to write about my training, and what you do for me, you know…just give the people what they want!” So if you go to MPboxing.com you can see my blog, Alex Ariza’s “Corner of the Ring.”

MC: How tired do you get of answering all the questions about steroids and blood work?

AA: Not so much now because over the last few weeks I’ve been telling everyone what we’re doing so I don’t get as many of those silly questions as much as I used to in the past.

MC: Do you work solely with Manny or do you also work with other boxers as well?

AA: Solely with Manny right now; though thankfully, Freddie picked me to train Chavez Jr. for this big fight of his so it’s gonna be Manny and Chavez working together. And I always think that’s good. You have someone like Chavez training and someone like Manny with that work ethic so it makes Julio take his game to the next level.

MC: How was training in Culiacán with Chavez Jr.? There was talk that Freddie’s watch being stolen there with Chavez Jr. promising a victory and a new watch. Did you get a new watch too?

AA: (Laughs) Someone else has got mine! But I have a new one; Freddie got me a new one.

MC: And how was training in the Philippines with Manny?

AA: It was GREAT! Probably the best camp that we’ve ever had. I always said that the Cotto camp was the best camp because I think Manny had real respect for Cotto and took it serious. I don’t know how you could have a better camp than that…But THIS camp for Mosley is definitely better! I mean, I don’t want to “jinx” it.

MC: So you could already tell?

AA: Oh yeah, I could tell in the first three weeks the way he got up in the mornings, the intensity. It used to be me who was always pushing the strength and the conditioning and the plyos and the sprints, but now it’s him and he’s got his own calendar.

We sat down last night and went over it and it’s him that’s making those decisions now; it’s his initiative. I’ve just never seem him do that before.

MC: I know both Manny and Freddie Roach have a huge “rock star” following over there. Does a crowd follow you in the Philippines?

AA: ME? (Laughs) Not so much! Maybe I blend in a little bit more.

But if one person recognizes me, then yeah…it’ll collapse. But Freddie on the other hand, man! I don’t even know if he could walk the streets anymore?

MC: He can but I think they’d find him! (Laughs) So give me your prediction for Manny vs. Mosley…

AA: Hmmm…I’m not Freddie, you know, so I can’t predict stuff like that. BUT…If the camp continues to go the way it’s been going, God willing, then it’s gonna be a big, big night for us!

MC: You’re now working with the son of a legend in Chavez Jr. and boxing’s biggest superstar in Manny, did you ever see yourself doing this–and at this level?

AA: To be honest with you, when Julio first came and Bob Arum put me up to train him, I thought, “Wow, how is this gonna work out?” But this will be our third fight together and our longest camp together so I thought our (John) Duddy fight was a real test to what Julio is capable of doing and that was only 30 days. I’ve got two months now so like I said, I’m gonna document this, videotape it, the WHOLE thing–how I start them, how I get them ready for the day of the weigh-in so everybody could go to the blog and watch it, view it and hopefully put all the speculation to rest.

MC: And what about you–do you ever get in there to spar?

AA: Absolutely… Not! (Laughs)

MC: Thank you, Alex and good luck on May 7 and June 4.

AA: Thanks!

Now with the Pacquiao-Mosley showdown just around the corner, the world will see how Manny has managed to balance his political world while continuing to build his business empire by launching his new cologne, releasing a new duet “Sometimes When We Touch” with Dan Hill, making the talk show rounds, starring in the Showtime/CBS series “Fight Camp 360º”–all while training with Freddie and Alex.

On May 7 fans around the world will once again be watching Manny Pacquiao do his thing in the ring.

And if strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza is correct, it will be a very big night for the eight-time world champion.

Photo by Michele Chong