Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao may be the world's top pound-for-pound fighter today but he didn't get there without help.

According to veteran sports analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz, Pacquiao's continued improvement inside the ring is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Pinoy powerhouse and his equally impressive conditioning and training team.

Composed of 2008's Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach, assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, Team Pacquiao has been an important factor in bringing out the power and speed of the Pacman.

Nathanielsz said Ariza's experience with boxers such as former super featherweight and lightweight world boxing champion Diego Corrales was essential in building up the power of the Pacman especially in his last three bouts.

He said Ariza worked with Pacquiao for two to three weeks before the Pacman's bout with David Diaz last year. For the Dream Match against Oscar de la Hoya, Pacquiao had to endure six weeks of training with Ariza.

This was extended to eight weeks of preparation before Pacquiao's bout with British pugilist Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton.

“Manny likes it because he realizes the good it’s doing to him. He’s willing to make sacrifices for that," Nathanielsz said. 

“Many of us don’t know real the importance of conditioning because if you’re physically, properly conditioned, you’re mentally conditioned also,” he added.

For the Hatton fight, he said Ariza used plyometrics to improve Pacquiao's speed while retaining his power.

“He went through a lot of hardships in this plyometrics program—go through a series of exercises. You feel so tired, every bone in your body aches, you don’t want to do anything. But that’s for a period of time.”

He said that in the calm down phase, when the exercises are stopped, “the power and speed all come out.”

Doing their homework

Indeed, it's hard to argue with the results of such rigorous training. Pacquiao defeated Diaz via knockout on the ninth round in their June 28, 2008 bout, garnering for the Filipino the WBC lightweight championship belt.

On December 6, 2008, Pacquiao again made history by defeating the Golden Boy via TKO on the ninth round of their match.

And in his most impressive showing yet, the General Santos native defeated Hatton via a second-round stoppage in their May 2, 2009 match in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nathanielsz said Roach and Fernandez trained Pacquiao for the Hatton fight by spending countless hours studying videos of Pacquiao and his opponents.

He related that after training, Roach would ask Fernandez to look for a certain match clip. Buboy would then go through the tapes for an entire night.

He said that they were “breaking down the tapes frame by frame.”

Among the things they studied is “how long it will take Pacquiao to go in and come it without getting hit.”

Nathanielsz said that it takes Pacquiao 4.6 seconds to set up and throw his left jab. The aim of Roach and Fernandez is for Manny to “go in and get out in less than 4.6 seconds.”

After hours of watching Hatton's fights, Roach was also able to spot a “tell” or a mannerism that Hatton does before he throws his right hook. Such “tell” is that Hatton lifts both fists close to his chest.

Nathanielsz said the knowledge allowed Pacquiao to train in a way that he could throw a right hook at Hatton before he could throw his own punch.

Dedication of a champion

All the best trainers in the world, however, would be useless if the person being trained is unwilling to learn.

According to Nathanielsz, Pacquiao has shown the makings of a true champion by his desire to improve constantly inside the ring.

"From fight to fight, Manny has hit harder and looked faster. He improves from fight to fight. From Diaz, de la Hoya and now Hatton he was sensational. Every fight he improves," he said.

Nathanielsz said the Pacman's impressive ring prowess is a far cry from his skills 12 years ago when he was knocked out by Pinoy boxer Rustico Torrecampo.

Nathanielsz explained that Manny was sent to the canvass because Asians mature late. His jaw back then was weak but Ronnie said that Pacquiao’s jaw “got stronger and stronger.”

“Now he can take a punch and not worry. He can take a punch to the body and maybe not worry,” the sports analyst said.

He also remarked: “It’s not Freddie Roach who gets all the credit for training him. Manny contributes substantially to his own training because he's so smart.”

He said Roach even shared: "When I tell Manny something, before I have finished he has grasped it...He's smarter than most of us.”