"Alex and I, you know, we met recently. He consulted with me as the strength conditioner for Floyd for this coming fight. So we sat down and we had a good conversation, very long...one thing that we discussed a lot is about presenting power punching for Floyd. Obviously his speed is amazing, his defense is incredible, so we talked different basis on that, and like I said, it would be up to Floyd to decide if he wants to have the two best strength conditioners in the world on his side or if he wants to go one against four," stated world-class Strength & Conditioning Coach Angel Heredia, who addressed rumors that he's teamed up with fellow Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Ariza to prepare undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather for his highly-anticipated May 2 mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao. Check it out!
BT: Angel, as you know, there's a lot of rumors and speculation out there about whether or not you're working with Floyd Mayweather. Obviously I saw you and Alex Ariza having a conversation over the weekend. Can you clear up some of those rumors and shed some light on exactly what's going on?
AH: Well, I'll tell you, me and Alex, we're both in the area of science; we both are strength conditioners. In other words, we are colleagues. Actually, since you brought this up, Alex and I, you know, we met recently. He consulted with me as the strength conditioner for Floyd for this coming fight. So we sat down and we had a good conversation, very long, and we talked about conditioning things and possibly some other projects. You have to prepare your guy the best possible way you can and then just let the boxers determine their fate with whatever strategy they follow in the ring. Once they're in the ring, there's nothing else a strength conditioner can do but just watch and trust that all the work that went in will pay off in the ring. You want to make it so perfect that you want to be sure you cover every area specifically that you can. Like for example, right now, Pacquiao has four strength conditioners right now on his side. So let's see what happens in the next days. It's a game where you have to be perfectly fit for this fight. I mean, this fight is huge. This fight is the biggest fight everybody wants to see, so I think it will be important for Floyd to be physically fit perfectly, and of course Pacquiao is going to be physically fit, so it's going to be nice.
BT: So just to clarify, you're not actually working with Floyd Mayweather at this point, but you have had conversations with Alex Ariza on certain matters regarding Floyd Mayweather, correct?
AH: Well, yes, he consulted me in some areas and then asked me to describe some possible things we could work with Floyd for this fight. You know, what angle I would take with Floyd for this particular fight. Obviously Alex and I have been against each other when he had Pacquiao and I had Marquez. You know, he's a great guy. He respects me and he respects my work and he admires my work, and I respect his and I admire his. We have two different systems. He has his own system and I have my system, but at the end of the day, it produces results. Now one thing that we discussed a lot is about presenting power punching for Floyd. Obviously his speed is amazing, his defense is incredible, so we talked different basis on that, and like I said, it would be up to Floyd to decide if he wants to have the two best strength conditioners in the world on his side or if he wants to go one against four. That'll be a question that Floyd would have to decide. But we're colleagues and we exchange information as any other colleague would do. Frankly, I'll tell you, Floyd needs to consider that. At this point, Manny's employing two Filipino conditioners and is employing two American conditioners. Obviously he has Freddie Roach, and we have to give him credit because he's a great boxing coach. He knows his boxer very well. He's been preparing mentally for this fight for years. So I think it's a very important fight and I think the legay of Floyd is on the line. Pacquiao has already been knocked out. Marquez pretty much almost finished his career. He was able to rise again, but at this point, we don't know if really Pacquiao is completely rehabilitated as far as the shock of the KO he received in December [of 2012]. I think Floyd has a good chance definitely of proving the point, so hopefully, let's see what Mr. Floyd has to say and see if he's ready to go. I'm working with a few fighters of his, so he's very happy that I'm working with his kids. Me and Alex, like I said, we're colleagues; we exchange information. He asked me my consultation on that and I gave him my take on that. Like I said, Alex will do a good job fine, he knows his area, he knows his conditioning, but I always say it's better to have two heads than one.
BT: Just to backtrack for a minute, did you say Pacquiao is using four strength & conditioning coaches?
AH: Yes, four. I don't know them all; maybe by name, but I don't really know their work much. He's trying to get ready for this fight. He knows this fight is big. You know, these guys have given us so many fights, beautiful fights, and now it comes to the point where they're going to be facing each other and the world wants to see who's Floyd, who's Manny, and obviously they're trying not to take chances. They're trying to be the most possibly covered and surrounded by people that they think might be capable of helping them out or giving them everything they need. I think it's a fair decision. I think every boxer who's facing a big fight or facing a first opportunity at a title should always do that. Never wait and not really take the opportunities. I'm not saying Floyd cannot win the fight without me; Floyd can do good on his own, but I think there's areas where me and Alex can help him a lot. Like I said, it would be great. I'm just happy to be considered and even be mentioned to be part of his future squad. Let's see what happens in the next days.
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