Pacquiao’s training begins September 20

Manny Pacquiao will return to the gym starting September 20, eight weeks before he faces Antonio Margarito on November 13 in Dallas, assuming the Mexican slugger gets licensed in the state of Texas.

A decision on Margarito’s application for a license should be out by Thursday or Friday, in time for the kick-off of a three-city press tour on August 31 in Los Angeles.

Texas is expected to grant Margarito’s license even if Nevada and California had rejected his application since Margarito has already served his one-year suspension stemming from the illegal handwraps incident before a fight with Shane Mosley.

Two more promotional stops – in New York and Dallas – have been lined up by Top Rank chief Bob Arum and Texas billionaire Jerry Jones, whose $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium will be the venue of the fight for the vacant World Boxing Council super-welterweight bout.

Reporting from the US, Mike Koncz, Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, said the Filipino pound-for-pound king is scheduled to leave for Los Angeles this Sunday and will be joined by wife Jinkee, lawyer Franklin Gacal, training assistants Buboy and Roger Fernandez.

Koncz said Team Pacquiao will fly to New York on a commercial flight for another press conference on Wednesday, this time with Freddie Roach in tow.

From New York, Pacquiao will get on board a private jet en route to Dallas for the final media gig set Friday.

Koncz said that after Pacquiao winds up his promotional obligations in the Empire State, they will take a private plane bound for Los Angeles so they could catch the Philippine Airlines flight back to Manila set to leave 10 p.m.

A gym owned and operated by the Elorde family near West Avenue in Quezon City is being looked at as possible site of the first phase of Pacquiao’s preparation.

Scheduled to arrive in the country are Roach, conditioning coach Alex Ariza and sparring partners Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Rashad Holloway.
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