Not even a prime and highly-motivated Marco Antonio Barrera, who faces the daunting task of avenging a four-year-old grudge this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
But when a guy resorts to dirty tactics, it?s a different story, Freddie Roach said Sunday, a rest day for Pacquiao.
Roach believes Barrera will employ just about everything ? legal and illegal ? to make sure he frustrates Pacquiao and destroy his gameplan just like what the late Agapito Sanchez did against Pacquiao in Nov. 2001 in San Francisco.
Sanchez, a New York-based Dominican Republic native, butted, elbowed, laced and kneed his way to a rough-and-tumble six-round technical draw when referee Marty Denkin stopped the fight on the orders of ringside physician Paul Wallace.
At the end of the fight, Pacquiao looked as though a lawnmower had run over his face, his right eyelid cut and his forehead battered and bruised.
“That?s the one fight that made Manny look bad,” Roach said.
“There?s no way Manny is going to lose this fight and I have told him about this. We are prepared for whatever Barrera is going to come up with,” he said.
“The thing with Manny is that he doesn?t fight back when he is butted or elbowed,” noted Roach.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao got himself a major makeover after attending church services at the Christ The King on Rossmore and Vine streets in Hollywood.
Looking upbeat and confident, Pacquiao had his long hair trimmed by California-based friend and driver Edward Lura, who will man the Lincoln Navigator on its way to the 300-mile journey to Las Vegas on Monday afternoon (Tuesday morning in Manila).
“I am ready to go,” said Pacquiao, who went on to have lunch with friends and supporters at The Palazzo consisting of beef soup and chicken adobo, steamed rice and fruits before meeting with another group of acquaintances at the Vagabond Inn where he used to stay during his early days of campaign here in the US.
After half an hour, Pacquiao got inside his black Mercedes and sped off with a couple of other cars and had snack at a Japanese restaurant near the corner of Sunset and Vine.
While Pacquiao appears to be carefree, Roach was a bit wary when asked about what he thought about Barrera?s chances although the famed tactician insists it is between slim and none.
“Barrera is a good dirty fighter,” added Roach with an emphasis on the word good.
