After Manny Pacquaio’s heartbreaking debacle to Mexican Erik Morales spawned a nationwide finger-pointing and blame-laying deluge, Pacquiao’s renowned trainer, American Freddie Roach, admitted that the Pacquiao camp also made a mistake when it underestimated Morales.
“I think we underestimated Morales a little,” Roach told Anthony Evans of SecondsOut, a US-based boxing news website during a training session with James “Lights Out” Toney at his famed Wild Card Gym in LA.
“There are a lot of things we will do differently (next time),” said Roach about the Pacquiao camp’s game plan should the much-clamored Morales-Pacquiao rematch push through. “It was a great fight – maybe one of the greatest – but we didn’t fight our greatest fight.”
Roach also expressed confidence they’ll do better in the rematch.
Almost knocked out
“I think we can fight a much better fight in the rematch and I think the rematch is something than can happen next. Morales fought a very good fight, he had great strategy and he pulled it off,” Roach said.
While Morales fought well that night, Roach said he was on the verge of getting knocked out.
“Jose (Morales’ father and trainer) told Erik not to do anything stupid in the last round but he stood there and traded to prove that he could, and Manny really wobbled him. Erik was hurt two or three times in that round – one more shot and we’d have got the knockout.”
Roach also disclosed that they endured a messy internal chaos going into the fight, which probably affected Pacquiao’s mental preparation.
“There were distractions going in,” Roach said. “The situation with the gloves didn’t help us at all. We were sold out on that. People say gloves don’t make a difference but it is like telling Tiger Woods that he can’t use his own clubs but has to use someone else’s – it would throw him off his game just a little and you don’t want that.”
It was widely reported that matchmaker Murad Muhammad and Roach had a huge falling out when the promoter signed a deal that required his fighter to use the Japanese-made Winning brand of gloves.
Stay at 130lb
Why he did it was somewhat confusing. Not only does the 26-year-old Pacquiao prefer the so-called puncher’s gloves – the Cleto Reyes brand – but Nevada rules no longer require both fighters to use the same brand of mitts.
“Bob Arum was taking care of his guy getting it in (the contract) but our guy (Muhammad) wasn’t taking care of Manny. It was really frustrating,” Roach said.
Roach also bared that Pacquiao will stay in the 130-pound division to acclimate himself to the territory, as well as continue their pursuit of the man known as “El Terible”.
