Freddie Roach has been Manny Pacquiao?s trainer for 15 years, so he?s not exactly a charter member of the Floyd Mayweather Fan Club. And when the celebrated trainer learned that Mayweather was two hours late to a public workout on Tuesday, one thronged by media outlets, he minced no words in expressing his disdain for the undefeated boxer.
?He was late for his media workout, leaving major media outlets scheduled to go live with dead air,? Roach told ESPN.
?How selfish is that? It doesn?t take a lot to figure out why everyone is rooting for Manny.
?Just look at which fighter has the most endorsements going into this fight and why. When Manny beats Mayweather, it won?t only be about unifying the welterweight titles, it will also be a public service to boxing.?
Pacquiao and Mayweather, of course, are set to square off on May 2, in a mega-fight many frustrating years in the making. Plenty of observers blamed Mayweather for the longstanding inability to make the fight, claiming that the boxer was more concerned with protecting his perfect record than in agreeing to a matchup for which the public was clamoring.
When negotiations finally started moving along earlier this year, Mayweather?s camp insisted that he be treated as the bigger draw, or the ?A Side,? with Pacquiao, as the ?B Side,? getting a smaller share of the revenue. Roach referenced that distinction, to which Pacquiao acquiesced in order to make the fight happen, while taking a shot at Mayweather for his tardiness Tuesday.
?Mayweather is a different ?A side? now, and you can guess what the ?A? stands for.?
At 47-0, Mayweather is aiming to win twice more and match the undefeated standard of legendary heavyweight Rocky Marciano. Roach would like nothing better than to see Pacquiao (57-5-2) put an end to that dream.
?I can assure you Mayweather?s party will end on May 2 and Marciano?s record will remain just that ? the record,? Roach told ESPN. ?And Mayweather will forever be known as Mr. 47 and 1.?
