Freddie Roach counts his lucky stars the day, fourteen years ago, when Manny Pacquiao walked through the door into his Wild Card Gym, in Hollywood. Roach reckons Pacquiao is the modern equivalent of Muhammad Ali, a sportsman and a talisman for societal change.
But most of all, he just likes the man. Their partnership in a ring has become legendary, as they have climbed eight weight divisions together.
“Manny is one of the greatest guys in the world. We’ve been together for 15 years ? marriages don’t last that long,” Hall of Fame boxing coach Roach told The Telegraph of the eight-weight world champion and Congressman in The Philippines.
“People come and go quite a bit in boxing but we’ve been loyal to each other. Pacquiao is a huge part of my life. I always said, you never know when the next Mike Tyson or the next Muhammad Ali is going to walk through the door and he is my Muhammad Ali.”
Pacquiao and Mayweather will fight on Saturday 2 May
Roach has had Parkinson’s Disease since 1993. He suffers ‘bad thoughts’ from it, some of which have been suicidal. The 55 year-old who has trained Mickey Rourke and Mark Wahlberg has views on assisted suicide.
“I believe that people should have freedom of choice. I’ve asked my girlfriend, who is a doctor, if she’d help me if I wanted to go that way. She said no,” he said, laughing.
“I talked to my neurologist one day and he said, do you ever get depressed? I said, yeah. And he said, when? I said, when Julio Cesar Chavez doesn’t turn up to the gym for 30 days. Sitting there waiting for this kid to call me was very depressing, so I thought about the best ways to kill myself.”
“I figured jumping out the window would be the best bet but then the landing might hurt a little bit. He said I should see a psychiatrist right away. I said, no, no, I’m just joking. I wouldn’t hurt myself because it might hurt too much.”
Roach also believes that Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, great rivals in the era, may go on to be friends.
Floyd Mayweather in training ahead of his bout with Manny Pacquiao
“It’s possible for them to one day be friends. I like Floyd Jr the best out of the Mayweather family. He’s always nice to me. He says, Hi Mr Roach, how are you? He’s always nice in passing.”
“In the build up to the fight, I’ve said some things and I’m sure he’s said some things about me. But we’re competitive right now. We’re fighting against each other. After the fight they could be friends,” he said.
“Manny is a really nice guy and he wants to be friends with almost everybody. He is a very outgoing person. I’m sure after the fight they’ll be friends regardless of who wins. I think they’ll have a lot more respect for each other after the fight.”
