The names Mayweather and Pacquiao have been tied together in regards to a fight for over 6 years, and now that the bout is finally set and all the talk about the fight coming together is over, the fight itself faces it?s toughest task, and that is living up to all the hype. The fight will break every monetary record in the sports history, but to most fans the only thing that matters is the kind of fight both fighers can produce after all this time.
In the third and final part of my interview with Freddie Roach, I discuss with him the future of his other champion Miguel Cotto and his views on Pacquiao?s relationship with Cotto. I also talked to Roach about the strengths of both Mayweather and Pacquiao going into the bout. Additionally I get Freddie?s view on who the greater of the two fighters is and his official prediction for May 2nd. Here is what Freddie Roach had to say.
Jenna J: One other fighter I want to ask you about is Miguel Cotto, you trained him to a middleweight title last year. His career has been up in the air, he signed with Roc Nation. Do you have any insight to what his future is looking like?
Freddie Roach: I talked to Miguel last night and they?re gonna be in town next week. We?re gonna go over the opponents possibly for his next fight. They do have two dates for him coming up, so he told me.
I?m looking forward to working with him and I did ask him about Mayweather a little bit. I asked, ?What was the most difficult thing to deal with when you fought Mayweather?? He said that maybe it was his foot speed and I relayed that to Manny. We?re all on the same team, I train both guys and they support each other very well, even though there?s a little bit of friction because they did fight each other.
We don?t live in a perfect world, nobody forgives everybody all the way, so I?m sure there?s some tension there because they have fought before and one guy won and one guy lost. Miguel is a great guy, he said, ?You will win the fight because you have Freddie Roach.? He knows how I come up with gameplans, he knows that my gameplan against him is going to be really good and Manny?s gonna follow the directions and I feel we?re gonna have a great night.
I feel very motivated and after Pacquiao?s fight I probably won?t get a break, I?ll probably go right to camp with Miguel and I can?t wait to get back to work with Miguel because he is a dedicated guy. I love guys that work hard, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are two of the best workers I?ve ever had in my life.
Jenna J: When we talk about this fight, what do you think the biggest strengths Manny Pacquiao has going into it?
Freddie Roach: His legs are his biggest strength because I feel like he can move a lot better than Floyd can. I think Mayweather?s gonna have trouble with the side to side movement. I love being in this fight, I know we?re in a must win situation but the thing is, I?m very confident that we?re gonna win this fight.
Jenna J: What are Floyd Mayweather?s biggest strengths that he brings into the ring?
Freddie Roach: Mayweather is very fast. His favorite punch is the jab to the body, I think the punch is a little bit too long, I know how to beat that punch if he does it. He might get knocked out right there. He reaches a lot with his punches and he?s always pulling away as he?s throwing a punch forward.
I know he?s undefeated and a good fighter but if you look at his record, he picked and chose his opponents. There are no real big, big names on his resume, I don?t think he?s a great fighter, I think Pacquiao?s the better fighter.
Jenna J: Is there a rematch clause if Manny Pacquiao beats Floyd?
Freddie Roach: There?s no rematch clause but this fight?s so big that I think if it goes like I think it will and they both start early and they both go for the knockout early because Floyd?s legs are nearly gone. I know he?s gonna start quick and we?re gonna start quick also. I think the fans will demand a rematch, and I would love a rematch because I like making money, so it?s pretty good.
Jenna J: In closing, what is your official prediction for May 2nd?
Freddie Roach: I think Manny will win by knockout. I don?t have a round but the thing is, we have to break him down first and I think in the later rounds, I believe Manny will knock him out.
Jenna J: Alright Freddie, thanks so much for your time. I wish you all the best luck on May 2nd.
