TOKYO - There's so much at stake in Carlo Paalam's match against Briton Galal Yafai on Saturday (1 p.m., Manila time), so Team Philippines is leaving no stone unturned to make sure the Filipino fighter is in the best shape possible.
The Alliance of Boxing Associations of the Philippines (Abap) team that takes care of the four boxers here, led by head coach Don Arnett, coach Ronald Chavez, sports psychologist Marcus Manalo, and nutritionist Jeaneth Aro, is making sure of that.
Let's see how detailed the preparation is, without giving away strategy.
Training
Paalam still trained twice on the eve of the fight, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, but mostly to plot strategy against the experienced Yafai, based on what Abnett and the coaches saw in a review of his fight tapes.
"We reviewed the opponent's previous fights and came up with a sound fight plan which will rehearse in training , and then just ask him to focus on executing the fight plan," said Manalo, who is very much involved in the boxers' final prep.
Paalam will be asked to look at some Yafai videos later in the night before hitting the sack. But he will still be asked to hold a light training on the morning of the fight, mostly to keep him loose before departing for the Kokugikan Arena.
Nutrition
There's a distinct difference between pro and amateur boxing fights in terms of weights. Pro boxers weigh in only once on the eve of a fight; amateur boxers are weighed on the morning of each fight in the course of a tournament.
Since Paalam has never had any problem making the 48-52-kilogram limit, Aro's main focus is to keep the Bukidnon-born flyweight in the best shape possible while making sure that he won't get over the limit on fight day.

That means he will usually wake up at around 5:30 a.m. on fight day, but won't eat anything until the weigh-in, which usually is held from 6:15 to 6:30 a.m.
"On the way to the weigh-in area, may mga dala kaming pagkain para as soon as matapos ang weigh in, he will start to rehydrate, consume his carbohydrates like sports drinks, saging, minsan nagti-tinapay," said Aro.
"Pero after ng weigh in, diretso kami ng dining hall [sa Athletes Village] tapos kakain na siya doon ng rice, sabaw, chicken. Kailangan ng soup para ma-rehydrate ang katawan niya dahil the day before, kailangang ma-minimize mga extra food intake."
Paalam, like most Filipino boxers, is big on rice, so Aro said he makes sure to incorporate the staple food in their nutrition, both pre- and post fight.
"Kay Carlo, ‘yung recovery food n’ya, kumain s’ya ng rice, grilled chicken, tsaka sabaw," she said. "After the fight, kumain s’ya ng ganoon din. Umaga before the fight kumain s’ya ng scrambled egg. Minsan boiled egg."
She doesn't foresee any problem on the day of the fight.
"Si Carlo kasi, kabisado n’ya na ‘yung gagawin n’ya. Alam n’ya na kung ano ‘yung magaan para sa katawan n’ya. Siguro ang naging pinaka-contribution ko lang dito is more on food selection, and ‘yung recovery nutrition."

Mental preparation
Paalam is a young kid with a good head on his shoulders, so Manalo's work is mostly to keep him on an even keel all the way to the opening bell, shielding him as much as possible from the pressure and weight of expectations on his shoulder.
Asked about his job, Manalo said it's to "normalize the possible intense emotions that might arise as a result of pressure and expectations, but he will be reminded that he has power over those thoughts and emotions and that he can choose how he will respond."
Once done, Manalo said "winning will just take care of itself.
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