LAS VEGAS ? Freddie Roach is giving Manny Pacquiao a couple of months to enjoy the moment.
?You know Christmas is coming up, his birthday party and he?s having a baby soon,? said Roach when asked how soon Pacquiao should start considering going back to the gym for his next fight.
?Six months. Manny has to enjoy his family and then we?ll see what fight makes more sense. Maybe (Ricky) Hatton is the best fight out there ? money wise and business wise,? said Roach.
Pacquiao is scheduled to fly home Monday for the traditional victory reception, then will celebrate his 30th birthday on Dec. 17. He flies back to the US the week before Christmas to join his wife Jinkee.
They?re expecting their fourth child by December or January.
?I?d tell him to take six months off then we?ll start training again. He can fight Hatton or (Floyd) Mayweather then retire as the greatest of all time.?
Pacquiao, however, said he can fight in May or June.
Roach said Pacquiao did everything right against Oscar dela Hoya, except when he felt that he was already getting a little cocky or that he was carrying the fight.
?I thought he was carrying Oscar a little bit toward the end. So, I said, ?Manny it?s your job to knock this guy out. Don?t carry him, you got to knock him out,?? said the trainer from Hollywood.
And Pacquiao did step on the gas, finishing off Dela Hoya with two hard rounds in the seventh and eighth.
Roach said Pacquiao fought as he trained for nine weeks, but said he was quite surprised with the way Dela Hoya did.
?He got old overnight and couldn?t pull the trigger. And he was hesitant all night. I would have stopped it earlier because he was taking some shots,? said Roach.
He felt they had it in the bag right ?after the first round.?
?Oscar didn?t disappoint me but I had a feeling this might happen because when he weighed only two pounds after the weigh-in I said after three rounds he?d be done. He?s ?gonna fade quickly.?
Dela Hoya weighed in at 145 lbs Friday and climbed the ring at 147 while Pacquiao weighed in at 142 and climbed the ring more comfortable at 148 1/2.
?He (Dela Hoya) made weight for the fight but he didn?t get ready for the fight,? Roach added.
Roach said he?d also enjoy this one, but has given himself only until Sunday.
?Yes, just tonight and tomorrow because Monday is back to work,? he said.
