Pacquiao finds his focus for Marquez fight

Distracted mostly by his attempt to win election to a congressional seat in his native Philippines, Pacquiao's eighth-round knockout of little-known Jorge Solis last April was not the dazzling performance usually turned in by the fast-punching, power-fisted dynamo who had emerged as the "Mexican Assassin" by destructing the country's great fighters, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Then, in an October rematch with Barrera, whom Pacquiao had dominated in a 2003 technical knockout, the Filipino star won a unanimous decision with a lackluster effort.

Not only had Pacquiao lost his national election, his Filipino fans were questioning what happened to their icon's superior skills.

"First, it took him eight rounds to take an ordinary guy, then no one back home thought Barrera would last past six," said Manila Bulletin sportswriter Nick Giongco.

Pacquiao's handlers huddled and assessed that their star's decision to spend the entire Barrera training camp in his home country was a mistake. He's too popular there, and was bombarded with too many requests that tugged him away from his ring commitments.

Pacquiao, 29, said he agreed a watershed moment in his career had arrived.

"I was not 100% focused, and I was not too excited by my performances in those two fights," Pacquiao said last week as he concluded his training in Hollywood. In a less public admission, trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao told him he was fighting at "50%" and felt "bored."

So after the Barrera fight, Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, summoned Pacquiao to Las Vegas for a meeting with his manager and trainer.

"I couldn't get him to concentrate on either the promotion or his training for Solis, and we held our breath as he trained overseas before Barrera," Arum said. "That was ludicrous. It was with much trepidation that we sent him into that fight."

Arum "laid it out" during a two-hour lunch meeting with the boxer, according to a Top Rank official who attended the summit.

"If you want to go where you want to go, you've got to be more focused -- we have ambitious plans for you," Arum told Pacquiao.

"All I did," Arum said, "was reinforce what everyone was telling me about the way Manny was going. It carried more weight, probably, because I'm the one who pays everybody."