Pacquiao starts training: some thoughts of worry

The Pacman started his training for the Cotto bout in Baguio. Freddie Roach arrived and they immediately started on padwork. Roach is caught stating that if he didn't know any better he would think that the Pacman has been on training for over a month already. It will be 4 wks in Baguio and 4 wks in LA. Considering the jet lag and the slowing down of training it would be more like 7 weeks. The further apprehension is that the first 4 weeks are in the Philippines where media coverage would be daily, not to mention the amount of Filipino fans lurking around the gym. Everyone has their faith on their heroes but if the hero tempts fate by compromising his preparation, it casts doubts even on the most ardent followers. Roach himself earlier retracted from his previous confession that he foresaw a KO victory for the Pacman, to which Nacho Beristein agrees and points to the 5-6 rounds as the stoppage period for Cotto. We can dismiss this as Roach's deja vu of the second bout with Barrera, where the Pacman got distracted in the Philippines in a similar training camp scenario. At that time, instead of the predicted KO, the Pacman simply won a unanimous decision over the Mexican warrior. This time, the Pacman comes back to a vaguely familiar ground at a catchweight closer to welterweight, where Cotto is one of the reigning sluggers. Will Pacquiao perform as the expected victor? Will the finish be as spectacular as his recent fights? We will have to wait.