LOS ANGELES – Freddie Roach is throwing and taking the punches for Manny Pacquiao as the word war against Marco Antonio Barrera continued with just seven days left before the great Vegas showdown.
Roach threw a couple more shots at the Mexican Thursday by saying that Barrera should be asking himself only one question, and that’s “How can he beat Pacquiao?” next Saturday at the Mandalay Bay.
“Barrera can’t outsmart or outfight Manny Pacquiao. So what he’s going to do is he’s going to use his head,” said Roach who had warned his boxer of possible head butt – accidental or otherwise.
“I just have the better fighter,” he continued. “But Manny Pacquiao is such a gentleman, such a sportsman that if he gets head-butt, he doesn’t head-butt back. That’s just his nature. That’s how he is as a fighter,”
A member of Team Pacquiao said he believes “there’s nothing Barrera can do legally that Manny Pacquiao can’t do better.”
After Pacquiao closed out his daily workout at the Wild Card Gym here, Roach took a swing at Barrera when the trainer was reminded of a very recent statement from the native of Guadalajara.
“Look what he did to Oscar (dela Hoya)? He made Oscar lose,” Barrera was quoted as saying how bad Roach, to his mind, was in Dela Hoya’s recent loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“I take credit for Oscar losing because I’m his trainer. But I’ll take credit, too, for Pacquiao knocking out Barrera,” said Roach without saying if he was referring to their 2003 win over Barrera or one that’s coming up next Saturday.
Pacquiao just refused to be dragged into the battle of words that was fanned by Roach’s move questioning the way Barrera’s hands are wrapped with gauze and tape that appears to be way beyond reason.
“Panalo na si Barrera sa bunganga. Manalo na sila diyan basta ako ang panalo sa ring (Barrera can win the word war. He can win it as long as I’ll be the winner on the ring),” said Pacquiao.
