At Manny Pacquiao?s highly publicized media workout, which was staged on Wednesday, April 15, at the Wildcard Gym, seven-time trainer of the year Freddie Roach did more than merely insinuate to several members of the press that the Pacman?s future Hall of Fame opponent, Floyd Mayweather Jr., strategically placed a mole within the eight division world champion?s camp.
The renowned boxing coach expounded on his conspiracy theory.
?Sparring has been good, but there was one guy I had to send home,? stated Freddie Roach. ?It was a young fighter originally from St. Louis but works out of Vegas now. He brought in one of his trainers who works with Mayweather, so I had to ask him to leave.?
?He was actually good work too?I can?t remember his name right now, but he was a good fighter too.?
When asked by fight scribe Rahim Davis of ?SecondsOut.com? if he believed the young fighter?s trainer was indeed a spy for Floyd Mayweather Jr., the always candid fight trainer confirmed his position on the matter.
?Yeah?it took me a little while to recognize him, but I said, ?wait a minute?your trainer works for Mayweather?. So I had to let him go.?
The talented prospect to which Freddie was referencing is undefeated, Golden Boy Promotions fighter Keandre Gibson (12-0-1, 5 KOs) of St. Louis, Missouri. The 25 year old fighter?s newly acquired head trainer, to which Freddie insinuated was on the Mayweather payroll, is veteran boxing coach and Las Vegas resident Don House. When notified of Roach?s recent allegations, the twenty-five year fight trainer was genuinely stunned. ?I can?t believe Freddie would make these allegations and basically challenge my integrity,? stated Don House.
?I?m a professional, first and foremost, and what happens in the gym, stays in the gym.?
The widely respected boxing coach of former WBC Heavyweight Champion Bermane Stiverne acknowledges having a relationship with Roger, Jeff and Floyd Mayweather, but sincerely feels insulted by the Hall of Fame trainer?s claims and resoundingly denies the disparaging allegations.
?I don?t work for Mayweather. And even if I did, I would never divulge that kind of information to him. That?s unprofessional. I wouldn?t jeopardize my reputation within the boxing community or do anything that could negatively affect Keandre?s ability to work with other fighters.?
The Vegas based trainer?s newly acquired prospect has become a popular role player in various camps over the last several years, which have included stints with Canelo Alvarez, Paulie Malignaggi, Lucas Matthysse, Sugar Shane Mosley and Ruslan Provodnikov.
The experienced fight trainer claims he was only at the Wildcard Gym to monitor and evaluate Keandre Gibson?s performance and wasn?t focused on Manny Pacquiao. ?I was at the Wildcard Gym for my fighter, and my fighter only,? insists Don House.
?Keandre has a fight against Jorge Romero coming up on the undercard of the Canelo/Kirkland event in Houston, Texas. That?s what I?m concerned with. My focus wasn?t and isn?t on Manny Pacquiao.
I?m preparing my fighter for his May 9 bout, and that?s why I was at the Wildcard Gym while Keandre was working with Team Pacquiao.?
