Roach, who also trains world champions Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan, said that a commitment to Pacquiao would preclude him from being in the corner on Macklin’s home turf.
“I’ll be in the Philippines, where we are starting the training camp for Pacquiao,” Roach told Telegraph Sport from his training base in Los Angeles. ”He wanted me over there, and I am going there on Sept 11. It has been the plan for some time.” Pacquiao, the multiple-weight world champion, is due to fight Antonio Margarito at light-middleweight, most likely in Texas, on Nov 13.
“The fact is that I do train two world champions, and my schedule is full,” said Roach. ”Matthew is here in Los Angeles at the moment and I am working with him, training him every day. He is having good sparring here, and I expect him to beat this guy Barker. I’ve watched tapes of Barker, who has fast hands, but who also drops his hands. Matthew will catch up with him, because Barker does get fatigued in fights, and he could be slowed up by body shots. I like Macklin in this fight.”
