MANILA, Philippines — Renowned trainer Freddie Roach will do something he has not done in quite a long while: Close the doors of his Wild Card Gym for a day to give way to a commercial shoot by Nike, starring Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.
?Nike is doing a commercial on training, and they picked their top 10 athletes in the world,? said Roach in an interview with Boxingtalk.com Tuesday. ?Manny was one of the athletes that they picked.?
?I will be closing the gym for the first time in 12 years for a commercial shoot,? added Roach. ?I am only doing this for Pacquiao.?
Pacquiao will arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday to film the Nike commercial, and will also personally grace his brother Bobby?s fight on Friday against Fernando Trejo at the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California.
Roach also confirmed reports that Pacquiao is set to decide this week on who his next opponent will be.
The trainer said that although World Boxing Council lightweight champ David Diaz heads the list of favorites, WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez remains a logical choice.
?It?s the most logical, we fought to a draw last time,? said Roach of the Marquez bout.
?If we don?t fight Marquez next, we could move up to 135 pounds and fight David Diaz. People want to see the Marquez rematch, and Pacquiao wants to fight the best guys out there.?
Pacquiao and Marquez battled to a split draw when they first crossed paths in 2004.
