Freddie Roach has admitted that Manny Pacquiao was “overtrained” for the contest with Juan Manuel Marquez, and it stands up in some ways. I remember thinking, and saying to his biographer Gary Andrew Poole on Wednesday when Pacquiao spoke to us at small media conference before the main head to head shindig at the Hollywood Theater at the MGM Grand, that Pacquiao looked old in the face, sullen even. Is the burden of expectation, coupled with his pull towards politics beginning to weigh more heavily on him than ever before ?
In an interview Wednesday with The Sweet Science, Roach confessed. “I give him a B minus. He wasn’t really himself, he had a bad night. I don’t know why, but he maybe overtrained for the fight. Maybe we started him too soon. He helped Jorge Linares get ready, and we thought that was a good idea at the time. Maybe he was overtrained, and left a little in the gym.”
However, while many believe on the strength of Pacquiao’s performance against Marquez that Floyd Mayweather would enjoy tactical supremacy, Roach added: ?Floyd Mayweather is my first choice. If he comes to the table, we?ll take the fight any day.?
Meanwhile, Marquez has laid out his demands ahead of a potential re-match. “The fight can’t happen in Las Vegas, and there have to be neutral judges and we must do well economically,” Marquez told boxingscene.com. “Then people will realise the fight is going to be completely neutral and a true winner will leave the ring.”
