Freddie Roach is not content to play the stereotypical role of the boxing trainer. He does not drape a white towel over his shoulder or chew on cheap cigars. He does not limit himself the way the fictional Mickey Goldmill did when he trained Rocky Balboa.
No, Coach Roach is a thoroughly modern trainer.
Lately, Manny Pacquiao?s pugilistic professor has been thinking and talking like a seasoned promoter. Roach?s latest public pronouncements have a bit of genius in them, I must say. It was the Dedham, Mass., Destroyer who first lit a competitive fire under scar?s posterior with the ?Oscar can?t pull the trigger anymore? quotes.
In recent days, Coach Roach has given voice to what other Team Pacquiao insiders have been thinking and saying sotto voce, meaning privately.
The consensus in the Pacman Inner Circle is this: if it is indeed impossible to breach the money gap right now with legendary Oscar de la Hoya for Dec. 6, then it?s time to move to Plan DJ, which stands for Double Jackpot.
In Plan DJ, if it?s even a temporary no go with Oscar, then it?s a final no go for Bob Arum?s always in the on deck circle Humberto Soto.
What Roach and his allies want is for Manny to inform promoter Arum that he is more than happy to not fight for the balance of this year, foregoing the November Soto fight which is hard work for low pay in relation to Pacman?s alternatives.
Having the rest of the year off allows Megamanny to sit back and take in the Nov. 8 Ricky Hatton-Yo Paulie Maligning bout in Las Vegas, a fight which the Brooklyn slapper is unlikely to win unless he can conceal bricks in both gloves.
If Hatton holds off the light puncher, it sets up a major financial bonanza, a Hatton-Pacquiao fight at 140 pounds let?s say in March. In a bit of irony, Golden Boy has a hand in Hatton?s boxing pocket so Oscar would benefit from such a bout.
Pacquiao figures to manhandle the dissipated Hatton, a troubled lad who just canned his longtime trainer, Billy Graham. Theirs was an intense relationship.
Ex-Hatton trainer Frank Warren cites one example in which Hatton boxed in Germany. After the fight, Hatton and Graham proceeded to royally drunk in their hotel bar. The boyos ran up a considerable tab and then skated on the bill, leaing Fearless Frank to sort things out,
But I digress. The point is any day now Hatton?s well-chronicled carousing is bound to take its physical toll.
Impressing against Hatton does something besides line Pacman?s bank account. It is a step ladder from 145 to 140 pounds and then on to welterweight, if only one time against Oscar. If Manny can dazzle Hatton it also knocks out de la Hoya?s Hatton is too small to fight me? propaganda.
As for Oscar, our ?American Son,? what does he with his spare time? Well, he can still fight on Dec. 6 and pretend it?s his final fight.
His relatively harmless foe will be Sergio Mora or someone similar. You don?t need to be a weatherman to know that ODLH will steer clear of any tornadoes coming out of Tijuana meaning fearless Antonio Margarito.
Oscar says margaritas, si, Margarito malo, muy malo.
So here?s where you get the second Jumbo Jackpot for the Pinoy idol.
Oscar wins against his hand-picked foil before Christmas. And then Manny has too much firepower for a fading Hatton in late February or early March.
The schedule will be tight but it would be possible, with tidal wave after tidal wave of publicity continuing to roll as it has for the past two weeks, to bring Oscar and Manny into a Vegas ring the first week of May.
You know that Oscar attaches importance to his traditional May 5 and September Mexican Independence Weekend fight dates.
There were will be $100 million or more ready to be culled with Manny probably pulling down $20 million.
If and when, I say they?ve got to bestow the proper accolade to Coach Roach. Manny will have already earned about $10 million from beating the One and Only Ricky Hatton.
I don?t mean for anything he does in the gym. I mean for his promotional touch of genius in laying out the Double Jackpot scenario.
That?s when Prof. Roach must be promoted himself.
Let?s then call him Dean Roach and I don?t mean Dizzy Dean.
Somehow, off in the mist, I can see it now. The launching of Freddie Roach Promotions.
Or, maybe better yet Geniuses R Us.
