The second episode of 24/7 Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios debuted on Saturday night on HBO, as the fight between the two now looms just one week away. Right here, you’ll find the full Pacquiao vs. Rios 24/7 episode 2 recap. Take a look.
Pacquiao-Rios 24-7 episode 2 begins with news coverage of Typhoon Haiyan. The storm devastated Pacquiao’s homeland of the Philippines. We see harrowing images of the destruction and the people who were affected. Pacquiao says he wants to help the people who died, and he is dedicating this fight to them. He says he’s praying for them, and says — “May god bless you.”
We’re in General Santos City, which is all the way in southern Philippines. And life here is going on, in a day with clear blue skies. We see Pacquiao at his new gym facility, and we see that Freddie Roach is here, and has been in the Philippines for a month. Roach says he’s hungry to fight, and that he’s as alert as the first day he met him. He’s even working harder than ever.
Pacquiao started camp three months out, and was already in shape when camp began. Roach says that doing all of those rounds with Pacquiao on the mitts is tough, and that the protector only helps him out so much. Roach is happy he kept him out of action for a full year, and he believes that Rios is in serious trouble.
All the usual faces from Team Pacquiao are there, but so is Chinese Olympic hero Zou Shiming. Alex Ariza, though, is not here. There were issues there, and Pacquiao gave Roach his blessing to fire Ariza.
As far as distractions for Pacquiao being in the Philippines as a superstar and a politician, everyone says that Pacquiao has been 100% focused on the fight and the fight alone. Roach also says that the camp is now closed from here on out, and they have security around to assist with that.
Now we’re on the other side of the world in Oxnard, California, and we see Brandon Rios cruising around in some crazy orange car and goofing around. He’s not trying to be discrete, that’s for sure. He’s enjoying the spotlight, and the money he has to play with.
At the Robert Garcia gym, the camp is loaded with Rios, Mikey Garcia, Nonito Donaire, and plenty of others. Robert Garcia says this team is unbeatable. They may lose a fight sometimes, but the team is unbeatable on the whole, and he believes it’s the best in boxing. And guess who’s there with them? None other than Alex Ariza. Rios says it was an obvious move him to bring him along.
Comedian Kevin Hart is in camp with them today because he’s promoting a boxing movie that he’s involved with. Rios clearly enjoys goofing off and getting a good laugh while he’s hard at work.
Back to the Philippines in Pacquiao vs. Rios 24 7 episode 2, and Pacquiao talks about remembering what life was like when he was a child, and sometimes they ate, sometimes they didn’t, they had nothing. Now though, it’s of course the opposite.
This is the first time that he has been training entirely in General Santos City for a fight though. For Pacquiao it’s good to see people around and get inspiration from that. Certainly, a crowd follows him wherever he is. And Pacquiao doesn’t just say hello, he’s doling out cash to crowds.
He says his heart goes out to them, and he wants to help them, and that he’s been there before, it was his life before. The big benefit of being here is that Pacquiao’s opulent home is just a 10 minute drive away. Wife Jinkee is pregnant and she’s around all the time.
For Rios, he’s also a world away from where he grew up in Garden City, Kansas. He says it was a small place and everyone knew each other, but also where he got in his first fight, and where, ahem, he got laid for the first time.
Rios managed to make it to the 2004 Olympic trials, and that’s where he met Robert Garcia. They connected and Rios came out and moved in with Garcia’s family. He says that he loves the Garcias like his own family.
We see that Rios is close to his home and his family as well. Rios enjoys spending time with his family, his wife, and the three kids he has with him here — he has two others in Kansas. His wife says that Rios thrives on the chaos.
Back to the Philippines, and we’re with Freddie Roach. And he’s as much of a celebrity as Pacquiao in the Philippines. He attends a ceremony where he’s named an adopted son of General Santos City, and he enjoys interacting with the people there.
Roach says of Rios that he’s really cocky, he has a big mouth, and he seems like a big kid. Same this his wife said about Rios. Roach wants to shut him up, and he also wants to show Robert Garcia who’s the better trainer and who has the better gym. They’re working on their game plan to fight Rios and both Roach and Pacquiao are very confident.
Back in Oxnard now, and Rios is conducting interviews from his house, which was aired during the HBO telecast with Donaire’s and Garcia’s fight the week before. Rios was watching the fights and says he’s nervous watching, but never when he’s fighting. He reacts with shock as Garcia got knocked down early, but then cheered enthusiastically as Garcia stopped him. He says November 23rd and it’s my time now.
Rios’ father is in camp with him now, and he’ll be traveling to Macau with the whole team. But his wife and children will be staying at home. That doesn’t bother Rios, and he knows they’ll be supporting him. His wife says his family is excited for this opportunity, but they’re always nervous.
Rios left for Macau on Monday, a 7,000 mile journey. Awaiting him? One of the most decorated fighters in boxing history.
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One week until fight night, folks! Thanks for checking out our coverage and recap of Pacquiao vs. Rios 24/7 episode 2.
