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Manny Pacquiao finally started his US training camp after more than two weeks of delay due to numerous commitments in the Philippines.

Pacquiao, who decided to delay his flight to US mainly because of his re-election bid as the congressman of his province, finally hit Los Angeles for the final phase of his preparation for his upcoming bout against Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8 in Las Vegas.

The eight-division champion was supposed to spend his entire eight-week training camp for the bout at the Wild Card Gym, but the plan did not push through. Instead, Pacquiao trained in General Santos City under his long-time buddy and trainer Buboy Fernandez.

Pacquiao was criticized because of the delays, but the Filipino boxing icon and the rest of his training staff claimed that Pacquiao never relaxed and is ready for sparring session this week if Hall of Famer trainer Freddie Roach decides to pit him against his sparring partners.

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz said: “We’ve already been training for three weeks in the Philippines. So we’ve moved our camp for now. We’ve already been sparring for two weeks in the Philippines, and then Manny and I both spoke to Freddie early last week, and Manny asked Freddie to have sparring ready for here.”

Roach said that he will not let any distraction ruin their preparation, saying that the Wild Card Gym will be close to the public everytime Pacquiao is training inside the gym.

The famed trainer also challenged Pacquiao to take his sparring sessions seriously by offering a reward. Before, Roach encouraged Pacquiao’s sparring partner to knockout the former pound-for-pound king for a cash prize. This time, Roach said that he offered Pacquiao $1,000 cold cash for every knock down he will score against his sparring partner.

“This camp I will pull a switch. I will offer Manny $1,000 out of my own pocket every time he knocks a spar mate,” Roach said in an interview with Examiner.

Pacquiao, who lost his WBO welterweight crown via controversial loss against Timothy Bradley, will try to bounce back and also prove that his two wins against his Mexican nemesis was no fluke.