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I owe my greatness to Manny Pacquiao - Roach
By DOMINIC MENOR, GMANews.TV
Freddie Roach answers the calls coming in at the Wild Card Gym. That already says a lot about the most high-profile boxing trainer in the world today. The person can and still wants to be reached even if his stature is nearly out of reach. This author has never gone to the Hollywood trainng camp but figured enough about Roach to know that it's the time of the year he cannot be disturbed because he is preparing his no.1 client for another huge battle. And yet Roach took the call for an interview Thursday morning in Manila or Wednesday late afternoon in Los Angeles. He made himself available even if the interview was set up on short notice. He had just finished two and a half hours of training his no.1 client (c'mon, do we still have to say who he is?), but never did Roach sound exasperated in the interview that lasted some 15 minutes. He was closing the Wild Card Gym and ready to call it another day, but Roach extended his time at the office for a few minutes more. From the promotional tour ("This one had a good turnout.") to Oscar de la Hoya ("If his size is the only thing he's going to bring to the fight, he's in trouble.). From the training camp ("We're on schedule.") to more de la Hoya ("His left hook is our biggest concern."). From his Filipino fans ("I'm being respected more than I deserve.") to even more de la Hoya ("He's old."), Roach listened to the questions and gave answers that stood on their own as thoughtful and entertaining soundbytes. GMANews.TV now shares to its readers the exclusive interview with Roach in the best way possible to appreciate it - straight-on, unedited and uninterrupted.
7 p.m. Wednesday, October 8 Wild Card Gym, Hollywood WE had a promotional tour with Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year which comes close to what we did with Oscar and Manny Pacquiao. We did a couple more cities that year, but this one we had pretty much a better turnout. I don't think there's any negativity with the press tour in terms of whether it would exhaust either fighters. When the fight is on, they'll both be ready. It's still far out enough from the fight. The stress of the promotions really wouldn't affect Manny. We still have eight weeks of training to go, and eight weeks is the perfect time for Manny to get ready for the fight. All I can say is, may the best man win and I feel I have the best man. -o0o- We started training on Monday. We started out with six rounds of mitts then speed bags. Just a normal workout. Second day we did eight rounds and today (Wednesday) we did 10 rounds. We're getting up there already as far as the mitt works are being done. Manny responds so quickly on training camp so everything is going on schedule. We didn't get a late start. We still got plenty of time. We're gonna start sparring on Tuesday. We'll start with four rounds. By fight time we'll go 12 rounds. It's a process of building strength as we go. I knew Manny was a special person and that he'd have a great career, but I never thought that we'd be in this position. Even a year ago I thought Oscar might be too big for Manny. But then after training Oscar and training Manny and seeing the differences, Manny has grown into a bigger and stronger person. The size difference isn't going to be that great. If that's the only advantage Oscar has, he's in trouble. -o0o- I don't mean to assume but the general consensus I'm getting is about 50-50 - 50 percent thinks Manny will win, 50 don't. On my side, I think we have a 90-percent shot to win the fight. That's a high number but I want to give Oscar a little credit because he's been there before. But if you look at it, you take both fighters, Manny is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Oscar is not rated in the top 10 in any division in the world, in any sanctioning bodies, never mind the top 10. I mean why? Because he's older. The thing is in life, it's all about timing. It's like when Oscar beat Julio Cesar Chavez in 1998. (Chavez was 36 then and Oscar was 25. - Ed.) Can Oscar beat Chavez in his prime? I don't think so. But Chavez was an old man and Oscar beat him. Right now, we're catching Oscar and he's the older guy. He's fought less than four times in the last four years. It's a perfect opportunity for us. For the people who don't think Manny can win this fight, they're welcome to say their opinion. For the people who say that it's a mismatch or that the fight shouldn't happen they're crazy, they have no knowledge of this game. Because if you look at the history of boxing, when the older fighter comes down in weight, he loses. It happened when Terry Norris beat Sugar Ray Leonard in 1991. Leonard came down in weight and Norris destroyed him. It's happened with Hector Camacho. It's happened all through the years. A good, fast man wins. Speed kills. And that's the way I feel about this fight. Anybody is welcome to their opinion of course, but the thing is if they don't have any knowledge of the sport, they should maybe just keep it to themselves. Manny Pacquiao is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world. He can beat anybody in the world. He can even knock out Oscar de la Hoya in my opinion. Who's right we'll know on December 6. Anybody who wants to bet, we can do that. -o0o- There's a 10-percent chance I'm giving Oscar to win because he has a good left hook. I gotta give him credit. He has knockout power in his left hook. That's his best shot and it's my biggest concern. It's something we cannot get hit with, but I know we're capable of avoiding that. Again, we have to fight a very good fight. Thing is, I know my guy is capable of fighting the perfect fight. I got six talls guys with good left hands, good left hooks to spar with Manny. I got six guys who are close to Oscar as they can get. They're bigger and stronger just like they say Oscar is. We'll see Tuesday how Manny does against these guys. -o0o- Manny was doing very well on Wednesday. He ran very well. We trained for two-and-a-half hours. Manny's in great spirits. I mean, he's having fun. He knows he can win this fight. -o0o- I've been lucky to have been able to work with Manny since he came at my doorstep in 2001. I know how much he means to Filipinos that's why we work hard every time and just look to win. The way the Philippine people treat me and the way they look up to me and the way they treat me with so much respect, I feel they treat me better than they should. That's because Manny Pacquiao really is the guy who deserves the credit. I can just guide him all the way, but he does all the work. If people give me credit, I appreciate it. I'll go down as one of the greatest trainers of all-time because of Manny Pacquiao and I thank Manny for that. That's why we're going to work so hard, and that's why we're going to win this fight and it's going to best day of my life. I promise.
About Freddie: Nobody gives a more accurate, more intimate, more insightful portrait of Manny Pacquiao's training than Freddie Roach. Roach was voted Trainer of the Year three times (2003, '06, '07) by the Boxing Writers Association of America. His high-profile clients besides Pacquiao have included Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, and Mike Tyson. Before being a well-known trainer, Roach was a professional boxer from 1978 to 1986. He first trained Manny Pacquiao in 2001, Pacquiao's debut in the US.
7 p.m. Wednesday, October 8 Wild Card Gym, Hollywood WE had a promotional tour with Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year which comes close to what we did with Oscar and Manny Pacquiao. We did a couple more cities that year, but this one we had pretty much a better turnout. I don't think there's any negativity with the press tour in terms of whether it would exhaust either fighters. When the fight is on, they'll both be ready. It's still far out enough from the fight. The stress of the promotions really wouldn't affect Manny. We still have eight weeks of training to go, and eight weeks is the perfect time for Manny to get ready for the fight. All I can say is, may the best man win and I feel I have the best man. -o0o- We started training on Monday. We started out with six rounds of mitts then speed bags. Just a normal workout. Second day we did eight rounds and today (Wednesday) we did 10 rounds. We're getting up there already as far as the mitt works are being done. Manny responds so quickly on training camp so everything is going on schedule. We didn't get a late start. We still got plenty of time. We're gonna start sparring on Tuesday. We'll start with four rounds. By fight time we'll go 12 rounds. It's a process of building strength as we go. I knew Manny was a special person and that he'd have a great career, but I never thought that we'd be in this position. Even a year ago I thought Oscar might be too big for Manny. But then after training Oscar and training Manny and seeing the differences, Manny has grown into a bigger and stronger person. The size difference isn't going to be that great. If that's the only advantage Oscar has, he's in trouble. -o0o- I don't mean to assume but the general consensus I'm getting is about 50-50 - 50 percent thinks Manny will win, 50 don't. On my side, I think we have a 90-percent shot to win the fight. That's a high number but I want to give Oscar a little credit because he's been there before. But if you look at it, you take both fighters, Manny is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Oscar is not rated in the top 10 in any division in the world, in any sanctioning bodies, never mind the top 10. I mean why? Because he's older. The thing is in life, it's all about timing. It's like when Oscar beat Julio Cesar Chavez in 1998. (Chavez was 36 then and Oscar was 25. - Ed.) Can Oscar beat Chavez in his prime? I don't think so. But Chavez was an old man and Oscar beat him. Right now, we're catching Oscar and he's the older guy. He's fought less than four times in the last four years. It's a perfect opportunity for us. For the people who don't think Manny can win this fight, they're welcome to say their opinion. For the people who say that it's a mismatch or that the fight shouldn't happen they're crazy, they have no knowledge of this game. Because if you look at the history of boxing, when the older fighter comes down in weight, he loses. It happened when Terry Norris beat Sugar Ray Leonard in 1991. Leonard came down in weight and Norris destroyed him. It's happened with Hector Camacho. It's happened all through the years. A good, fast man wins. Speed kills. And that's the way I feel about this fight. Anybody is welcome to their opinion of course, but the thing is if they don't have any knowledge of the sport, they should maybe just keep it to themselves. Manny Pacquiao is pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world. He can beat anybody in the world. He can even knock out Oscar de la Hoya in my opinion. Who's right we'll know on December 6. Anybody who wants to bet, we can do that. -o0o- There's a 10-percent chance I'm giving Oscar to win because he has a good left hook. I gotta give him credit. He has knockout power in his left hook. That's his best shot and it's my biggest concern. It's something we cannot get hit with, but I know we're capable of avoiding that. Again, we have to fight a very good fight. Thing is, I know my guy is capable of fighting the perfect fight. I got six talls guys with good left hands, good left hooks to spar with Manny. I got six guys who are close to Oscar as they can get. They're bigger and stronger just like they say Oscar is. We'll see Tuesday how Manny does against these guys. -o0o- Manny was doing very well on Wednesday. He ran very well. We trained for two-and-a-half hours. Manny's in great spirits. I mean, he's having fun. He knows he can win this fight. -o0o- I've been lucky to have been able to work with Manny since he came at my doorstep in 2001. I know how much he means to Filipinos that's why we work hard every time and just look to win. The way the Philippine people treat me and the way they look up to me and the way they treat me with so much respect, I feel they treat me better than they should. That's because Manny Pacquiao really is the guy who deserves the credit. I can just guide him all the way, but he does all the work. If people give me credit, I appreciate it. I'll go down as one of the greatest trainers of all-time because of Manny Pacquiao and I thank Manny for that. That's why we're going to work so hard, and that's why we're going to win this fight and it's going to best day of my life. I promise.
About Freddie: Nobody gives a more accurate, more intimate, more insightful portrait of Manny Pacquiao's training than Freddie Roach. Roach was voted Trainer of the Year three times (2003, '06, '07) by the Boxing Writers Association of America. His high-profile clients besides Pacquiao have included Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, and Mike Tyson. Before being a well-known trainer, Roach was a professional boxer from 1978 to 1986. He first trained Manny Pacquiao in 2001, Pacquiao's debut in the US.
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