LAS VEGAS ? A little cocky, Freddie Roach said only a miracle can save David Diaz against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday at Mandalay Bay (Sunday in Manila).
?For Diaz to win he?ll need a miracle,? said Roach.
Not once, but twice.
Normally soft-spoken, Roach issued the sweeping statement in reaction to Diaz? own statement that the best way for him to beat Pacquiao is to ?put pressure? on the Filipino all night long.
?That?s his only game. That?s all he can do. There?s no surprise if he comes to fight and he comes forward,? said the two-time Trainer of the Year Tuesday morning amid the terrible heat.
Then he assured that even if Diaz puts the pressure on Pacquiao, the world?s No. 1 pound for pound fighter won?t back down.
?Manny won?t break down. He won?t get tired in the later rounds. I don?t see that happening. Manny is in great shape. For Diaz to win he?ll need a miracle.?
Roach just won?t stop there.
He added that Diaz? two-year reign as the WBC lightweight champion will soon come to an end.
?He believes in himself. Yeah, he?s a champion. But that will change.?
Later on, Diaz just laughed it off.
?I don?t think I need a miracle. I think with my heart and will that should be enough. And with the blessing of the Lord, that?s all that matters,? said Diaz, a very likeable guy.
Even Pacquiao thinks he is.
?Yes, I like him. He?s a nice person. That?s what I like about a boxer. That?s how a boxer should be,? said Pacquiao.
Diaz calmly said Roach is entitled to his own opinion.
?That?s everybody?s opinion. But I have an opinion of myself, too. And the one that comes first is mine,? he said with a little laugh, facing the media, sitting on the edge of the ring to be used for the coming fight.
?What is it about you that cause people to say that?? Diaz was asked by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports.
?I don?t have an idea. I don?t think they like me,? answered the former member of the US Olympic team.
?But you?re such a nice guy,? said Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN.
?I don?t know. But being a nice guy in boxing is a whole different story,? said Diaz.
?But I pay no mind. People are ?gonna say what they want,? he added.
?Yes, I?m the underdog. And it feels good when you win.?
