JESSE JAMES LEIJA: “PACQUIAO IS AN INCREDIBLE FIGHTER”

It’s no secret that hard work, dedication and faith in God has been the key to Manny Pacquiao’s success inside the ring. In a recent interview, former world champion Jesse James Leija agreed, revealing that even when Pacquiao was a lightweight, he still trained with the same frenetic pace that he does today. “Manny trained at my gym for about 2 weeks when he fought here in San Antonio and that guy does not stop. He is an incredible machine. He is abnormal because not everyone can do what he does,” Leija would recollect as he witnessed firsthand the intense training habits of Pacquiao, who worked out at his gym for two weeks as he prepared for a 2007 bout against Jorge Solis.

“For a guy to be that small, I think he is smaller than I am. I am 5’5″ and he may be 5’6″, but he is small body-wise. Just what he does is incredible. He is the type of guy that every time he goes into the gym, he wants to be better than the day before. And he works that hard,” Leija added. “Pacquiao is an incredible fighter and I’m amazed at the way he’s been doing it as well, but I don’t think the guy is taking any type of drugs or anything like that. If he was on growth hormone, he would be a lot bigger than what he is now. When I was next to him, I was larger than him and I’m 5’5″. I fought at 140 and I’m thicker than he is. He is just an incredible guy.”

As far as his thoughts on the upcoming Mayweather vs. Mosley bout, Leija offered the following:

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“I think my opinion is you almost always have to go with Mayweather because he has proven to everyone how good he is. You can’t hit the guy. But as you said, I fought with Mosley and he is just as fast as Mayweather. He’s taller and is stronger than Mayweather, but can he hit Mayweather is going to be the biggest question. Mayweather is so good at defense, but Mayweather is going to finally fight somebody that is as quick as he is and as smart as he is. I think it is going to be an incredible fight. Now, Mosley hasn’t fought in quite some time and that’s going to be a difference in the fight too. How much of a difference? I’m not sure, but it may play a part. 17 months is a long layoff to not be in the ring and fighting. That’s almost like a guy retiring for 2 years and coming back and it’s almost impossible to do at that age, but Mosley is a different character too. He’s a different guy; he’s not normal. I’m just looking for a great fight. I think it will be better than the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, definitely. Now, who do we want to see after that fight? Do we want to see Pacquiao and Mayweather or Pacquiao and Mosley? I would rather see Pacquiao and Mosley. I think that’s the more entertaining fight. And that’s just because Mayweather is not the type of guy that is going to take risks. He will fight defense first and offense second. I think that’s what he does. But his offense and his defense is even better. The name of the game is to hit and not be hit and he does it very well.”

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