HOLLYWOOD, California ? New WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach confirms that talks for a possible rematch have taken place between the eight-division world champion and former WBO welterweight title-holder Floyd Mayweather Jr., possibly in May of 2017.
?Mayweather came to the fight, and I heard they met later on in his (Pacquiao?s) room,? Roach confirmed in an exclusive interview with The STAR. ?Hopefully, they worked it out that we can fight one more time. Now, if we?re going to fight, it looks like Manny has a break in session in April and May. So that means in the month of April I?m heading to the Philippines until he?s out of session. So we?ll have a fight in May if everything works out correctly.?
Roach detailed how the recurring shoulder injury Pacquiao had sustained in a sparring match in 2009 became a hindrance to Pacquiao?s performance against Mayweather in Las Vegas in 2015.
?It was a pretty bad injury,? Roach confirms. ?If you talk to the surgeon, it was five-year old injury that was never taken care of. Whenever the strength and conditioning coach would apply plyometrics with Manny, his shoulder would always flare up. They?re very limited in what they could do with it. It had been a bad shoulder for a long time but when he tore it, it was pretty bad. By fight time, though, we were doing mitts in the locker room, he was looking really good. I thought everything was okay. But by the fourth round, he told me his shoulder?s shot; he threw it out. We had to have surgery on the shoulder, but it turned out pretty well.?
The first fight between the two, a Mayweather decision win to retain his WBO welterweight belt, shattered all pay-per-view records, reportedly pulling in 4.5 million buys at $100 each. Now, Roach is already looking at strategy for this anticipated rematch.
?He really, really has to be more offensive, throw more combinations,? the multiple Trainer of the Year awardee explains. ?He?s single-punching a little bit too much now, just relying on one shot at a time. He needs a flurry with the combinations like he used to. If that Manny Pacquiao shows up, he can beat Mayweather and anyone else in the world. I was little disappointed in the Mayweather fight. Manny thought he still won the fight. But he could?ve hit him a little more decisively and used his power like he knows how.? Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Roach adds that the rematch would be a fitting climax to an unparalleled career for the Filipino senator.
?I knew he was special that first day I met him, but I did not know how special. I thought he?d win a couple of world titles, not eight world titles. If he fights Mayweather one more time, that?s it,? Roach says. ?I would ask him to retire, or tell him ?Manny, there?s nothing more you can do in boxing. I mean, let?s face it, you?ve done everything.? If we get Mayweather in the next fight, win or lose I?ll tell him to retire. And if I tell him to retire, I think he will.?
Roach recalled that he put up his Wild Card gym even though he was advised against it, in the hope that he would find an all-time great boxer. He was proven right when, 16 years ago, a young Filipino fighter with blonde hair walked in and asked for his help.
?People were telling me having a gym was a pain in the ass,? Roach told this writer. ?But you never know when the next Muhammad Ali will walk through your door. After just one round with Manny doing mitts, I knew he was special. I?ve had guys with power before, and I?ve had guys with great speed before, but I?ve never really had a guy who had both. Most small fighters are not big knockout artists. Manny is. When we were going to fight Ledwaba, people were telling me ?Your guy?s going to get killed. I said no, he?s not. When we knocked Ledwaba out, they believed me.?
Roach also answered the criticism that Pacquiao has not been able to knock out any of his opponents in the past seven years, stung that his fighter had to evolve as he challenged bigger and bigger rivals as he wiped out the opposition in the lower weight classes.
?When you move up in weight, some guys carry their punch with them and become better punchers, but a lot of guys don?t punch as hard,? Roach explains. ??Cause they?re hitting bigger guys and can take a better punch. By the time we got to welterweight, Manny wasn?t really big puncher anymore. And he?s never really knocked out any welterweight fighters. People are criticizing me for making him too good a boxer and they don?t have the big knockout anymore. But Manny needed to become a better boxer to compete with these bigger guys. We developed the right hand a lot, drills every day on that. It was a lot of footwork. You fight a 147-pounder, by fight time he weighs 160 and Manny still weighs 140 pounds. Against Vargas Manny was 144, the opponent was around 168.?
Roach also remembered his reaction when Pacquiao first informed him that he was running for a national post.
?Now this is serious,? Roach says. ?This is not singing, this is not making movies. ?Cause Manny?s always wanted a full plate; he?s always been busy. Timewise it didn?t bother, because once Manny?s in the gym he?s the best student ever. No matter what time he comes, no matter how tired he may be or how fresh he may be, he still works hard every day. I?m happy we can still fit fights in.?
And so are the fans.
