boxing trainer Freddie Roach wants the reigning pound-for-pound king to knock out Mexican brawler Antonio Margarito when they face each other on Nov. 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.
Pacquiao?s last fight against Joshua Clottey went the full route, and although the Filipino ring icon won emphatically in the judges? scorecards, Roach said he wants Pacquiao to take out Margarito inside eight rounds.
??I don?t want it going the distance like the last fight. As much as possible, we want to finish him inside eight rounds. I believe we can do that,?? said Roach yesterday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey?s UN Avenue in Manila.
Roach compared Pacquiao?s coming fight for the vacant World Boxing Council super welterweight division to the Filipino?s fight against Oscar Dela Hoya less than two years ago.
Like Dela Hoya, whom Pacquiao mauled in eight rounds, Margarito has the same advantages in height and reach.
But Roach said Margarito?s supposed advantages over Pacquiao don?t worry him at all.
?Margarito brings a little bit of what Dela Hoya brought in with his height and reach advantage. His size is a concern, but it wouldn?t be much of a problem for us.??
The outspoken trainer said that they will apply a similar strategy like the one they mapped out against Dela Hoya?which is for Pacquiao to dart inside and out and use his handspeed and footwork.
?We can take away his reach advantage by staying close and going inside and then moving out of the way. Margarito is a very physical fighter and he?ll do anything to win the fight but so is Manny. We will exchange with him, but we?ll use the angles well to our advantage because Margarito is slow and we want to capitalize on that.??
Roach added that as long as they have a great training camp and his prized ward follows the fight plan, there is nothing to worry about.
?I have no worries about this fight. As long as Manny (Pacquiao) follows the game plan and stay off the ropes, we?ll be in good shape. We?re currently working on our game plan as we just started our camp. We?ll be ready. It won?t be a problem,?? Roach assured.
Team Pacquiao started its training camp at the Elorde Boxing Gym in Quezon City and will remain there until Saturday, when the team climbs to Baguio to resume training.
Pacquiao, Roach, strength conditioning guru Alex Ariza and the rest of Team Pacquiao will stay in Baguio until Oct. 30 before heading to Los Angeles for the final push before the fight.
?Baguio is a very nice place to train, with the altitude and nice atmosphere. I am happy where he?s (Pacquiao) at right now and I?m just happy that we?re starting our preparations now, to be honest. We?ll take it slowly and prepare for this one. Conditioning is a big part of our work so we?re starting with that first then we?ll start sparring next Tuesday. Our conditioning coach (Ariza) will have to work double time to get Manny in the best possible shape for the fight. That would be a big key for us,?? said Roach.
Pacquiao and Margarito will fight at a catchweight of 151lbs, although the Filipino icon, already the holder of seven titles in as many divisions, and the Mexican are disputing the WBC superwelterweight division crown at 154 lbs.
Pacquiao?s new sparring partner Michael Medina of Mexico is also excited about his upcoming sparring sessions against the Filipino. He should be Pacquiaos? toughest sparmate since Medina is a natural super welterweight .
?It?s a pleasure to be training with Manny (Pacquiao). I am very happy to be here and get him ready to fight Margarito. We?re here to help him and make it easy for him come fight time,?? said Medina.
