LAS VEGAS - Angel Heredia is unleashing a monster Saturday night at the MGM Grand.
The prototype's name is Juan Manuel Marquez.
Heredia, a conditioning coach and sports scientist notorious for supplying performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, is working closely with Marquez as the Mexican gets ready to rumble Saturday night against Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand.
A Top Rank publicist, who is assigned as Team Marquez's pointman, said on Thursday that he has seen a big change in Marquez's training habits.
"Before, Marquez would just stay in his room in the final days leading to a fight," said Jimenez.
Not anymore, said Jimenez.
Since Marquez acquired the services of Heredia (real name Angel Hernandez), he has seen and felt major changes in his physical conditioning and the result of his third fight with Pacquiao is a testament to Heredia's expertise.
The first two fights, Pacquiao scored knockdowns against Marquez but in the third, Marquez hardly blinked even after having been struck by Pacquiao's best blow.
Jimenez said Marquez, who has bulked up, continues to spend quality time doing Heredia's special exercises featuring medicine balls and skipping ropes used in a bizarre manner apart from doing morning workouts in the track oval of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Marquez, who turned 39 last August, admits having felt a resurgence of energy ever since he hooked up with Heredia.
But Jimenez said that lead trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain is closely watching the proceedings and would intervene whenever he thinks that Marquez is going overboard with Heredia's weird stuff.
"Nacho would remind Marquez not to overdo it because he might get tight during the fight."
On Friday afternoon, the official weighin, Heredia will provide the public a sneak-peek into his experiment.
