Pacquiao spars with ex-NBA stars Barkley, Miller

Manny Pacquiao spent the day sparring and shooting baskets with former NBA stars Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller as part of a production by Turner Sports and HBO Sports called Charles and Reggie: Toe to Toe with Manny Pacquiao, a 30-minute show to be televised on TNT on Thursday.

The broadcast will follow the network’s NBA coverage and will include Barkley and Miller visiting Pacquiao at The Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood, Calif., as he prepares with five-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach for his fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez that will happen on HBO Pay Per View at The MGM Grand on Saturday night.

Among the show's highlights will be Miller joining Pacquiao on his morning run through Griffith Park in Los Angeles, Barkley sharing time with Roach, and both Hall of Fame players dropping in on one of Pacquiao's training sessions.

The Pacquiao footage will follow TNT's NBA coverage of the Miami Heat playing host to the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the Dallas Mavericks visiting the Phoenix Suns at 10:30 p.m.

Photo by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com