Pacquiao Training Partners Revealed, Rigo Rumors Untrue

In the world of boxing, super-fights get super-secretive.

Unlike their MMA counterparts, when boxing’s big stars come out, so do big paydays. As such, many of the nuances of training are top secret, and with rumors running rampant regarding the team Freddie Roach has assembled for Pacquiao, we have some clarity.

ESPN has it:

One of the big Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight rumors to spread like crazy on social media in recent days, based on unsubstantiated reports, was that Pacquiao would be sparring with junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux to get ready for the fight. It is not true, according to trainer Freddie Roach, who picks the sparring partners.

Rigondeaux as a sparring partner for Pacquiao makes no sense, anyway, because although he is great defensively and fast like Mayweather, he is also about 20 pounds lighter than Pacquiao and left-handed. Pacquiao, who will begin sparring for the fight on Tuesday, has two sparring partners in camp at Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, to begin with (with more coming). They are Kenneth Simms Jr. (5-0, 2 KOs) and Rashidi Ellis (14-0, 11 KOs).

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