By Lance Pugmire
LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao interrupted training in Hollywood recently and confided in his conditioning coach Alex Ariza that something wasn't right.
"I'm not feeling well. I'm restless. I can't eat," Pacquiao told Ariza.
"Bro," Ariza answered, "those are all the effects of overtraining."
With that, Ariza began adjusting to a startling revelation: Pacquiao, at age 33, preparing for his 60th professional fight Saturday night at MGM Grand against unbeaten Timothy Bradley, is officially dealing with his ring mortality.
"You think about an athlete like Manny and how he got here in life, from nothing to becoming this bigger-than-life icon, it's always been go, go, go, drive, drive, drive," Ariza said. "It's worked for him.
"But by continuing to put that into his sport, that relentlessness backfires on him. We have to remember he's 33, and apply sport as a science."
The concerns over Pacquiao's training increased after back-to-back flat performances in decision victories last year over Shane Mosley and counterpunching specialist Juan Manuel Marquez.
There's also the unaccounted toll Pacquiao has paid after admitting in recent weeks that last year he engaged in late nights of gambling, alcohol use and womanizing that threatened his marriage. In the last six months, he has undergone a religious awakening.
Pacquiao gave up drinking, and he gave up gambling. He gave away his cockfighting ranch in the Philippines and sold his interest in a casino there.
He found a spiritual adviser and now spends his spare moments reading and discussing the Bible.
"The things I did over and over in the past, I stopped those," Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 knockouts) has boxed 353 rounds as a pro, 45 more than Oscar De La Hoya did in his career, and only 27 fewer than Thomas Hearns, who fought into his 40s. Muhammad Ali, who retired at 39, had 61 pro fights.
When such concerns were raised in an interview, the positive Pacquiao smiled away the questions.
"I still think I'm 26 years old," he said.
Pacquiao weighed in Friday at the class limit of 147 pounds, while Bradley -- who is noticeably more musclebound -- weighed 146. It is the heaviest that Pacquiao has ever weighed for a fight.
Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach maintains his fighter had a sharp camp. He expects Pacquiao to beat Bradley because of a clear power advantage.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't be able to see rival Manny Pacquiao's fight. As inmate No. 1363917 at the Clark County jail in Las Vegas, Mayweather doesn't have access to a television, computer or telephone in the small solo jail cell where on Friday he was beginning the second week of a three-month sentence in a domestic violence case.
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