Freddie joined Manny at the Elorde Boxing Gym in Manila to begin training for the July 2 bout in Brisbane, Australia?
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao?s fight at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, against unbeaten Jeff Horn is a little more than two months away and he has set aside his congressional duties for the time being to attend to the duties associated with his first fight in eight months.
Freddie Roach has joined his charge at the Elorde Boxing Gym in Manila to begin training for the bout. At 38 years of age and sporting a 59-6-2 record with 38 KOs, no one expects the present-day Manny to perform as the Manny of old, none of which makes the Hall of Fame trainer pleased with what he has seen this far.
According to the Manila Times, Roach ?was not a happy man on the second day of the sparring session.?
Expectations being what they are, and with talk of a possible fight with Terence Crawford still filling the lulls in the conversation, Roach expressed his dismay in no uncertain terms.
?We are far behind,? he said. ?Those five rounds of sparring were the worst I have seen him spar,? said Roach. ?Overall, the second day of sparring was not great I didn?t expect him to be good. But I think he?s getting there.?
There is still plenty of time for Manny to find his boxing groove. But having lost three of his last eight fights dating back to his first fight with Timothy Bradley in 2012, and having not stopped anyone since his fight with Miguel Cotto in 2009, it?s unlikely he?ll KO the Aussie, even as he hands him his first defeat.
?Manny has not done any knockout for a long time,? added Roach. ?He got to show here in the sparring that he wants to knock him down. So I don?t know, I cannot predict that anymore.?
That?s the best news to come out of Manila in awhile.
