Freddie Roach reflects back on the rematch between his fighter Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in this exclusive VIDEO interview, only on FightFan.com!
FF: Freddie tell us a bit about the improvement Manny showed from the first fight to the rematch. What kind of adjustments do you think you guys made that allowed Manny to be more successful down the stretch in the rematch?
FR: It?s his rhythm and his movement. When Manny gets up on his toes and starts with that in-and-out motion, and comes in and flurries real quick, and gets out of the way real quick? that?s when he?s at his most effective. We worked on that a lot. Because one thing about Marquez, he?s got fast hands but he?s really slow with his feet. He sets himself a bit too much because he?s looking to counter-punch. When Manny uses that style, he gets Marquez reaching for him a little bit and it?s very effective. I wish we?d done more of that early in the fight.
FF: FightFan.com here on location at the Wildcard gym with Freddie Roach. We appreciate you having us and wanted to start out by asking you a bit about the recent Pacquiao vs. Marquez rematch. Have you had a chance to view the fight on video since you saw it live the first time around?
FR: Yes, I had the chance to watch it again. It was a great fight for boxing. I thought Pacquiao?s power shots made the difference, but it was a close fight. I felt it could have gone either way and was happy we got the decision. I feel the knockdown was the difference, and Manny hurt him in the late rounds once or twice.
The biggest disappointment for me was (Team Marquez) complaining about how they got robbed. They had accused me of tampering with the judges because one of the original judges was a family friend and I made that public so the commission decided to make that change. Not me. It was the commission?s decision. You know they came over (to the Philippines) to Gerry Penalosa?s fight to challenge Manny and I thought that was disrespectful to Gerry to take away from his moment. They said they were robbed and threw a contract (for a third fight) at Manny and said, ?You know I won the fight.? Manny said, ?I guess I got lucky,? which just goes to show you Manny has a good sense of humor. It was a good fight and they may do it again someday, just not now.
FF: How would you assess the game plan you guys worked on in preparation for the fight against how it was executed in the ring on fight night?
FR: The game plan didn?t go as well as I thought it would. We worked on moving away from his right hand all night long, and Manny ended up moving in to his right hand all night long (in the fight) and I couldn?t get his attention about it and get him to change it. It?s kind of funny, because they both reverted back to their natural character. Manny was looking to land the left hand, and Marquez was content with counter-punching.
You know when Manny was laying on the ropes in that one round (after the clash of heads) looking like he was ready to pack it in, I asked Manny what he was thinking and Manny said to me that he thought if Marquez was going to knock him out there was his chance to come and try it. Marquez just wouldn?t go after him because he was just looking to counter-punch. He may have had a chance there, and Manny says he gave him an opportunity to come in, but he wouldn?t try to capitalize on it.
FF: When I saw that, I was thinking Manny was looking to counter-punch, because that?s what generated that big knockdown for him in the third. Was that maybe the case?
FR: I believe that?s what he was up to. He won?t admit it, but I think so.
FF: Speaking of that knockdown, a big difference in this fight was the way Manny did not get discouraged after not getting him out of there and still managed to press forward with his game plan. Was that an adjustment over the first fight?
FR: We know he got up three times in the last fight and that made it four times he was down all together and obviously he?s a very resilient guy. Marquez is a great fighter and I respect him, but I think the crying about the decision from him and his trainers was bad for boxing. You know, if we?d lost the fight by one point, I couldn?t complain. It was a very close fight and the decision is what it was. I?m not a judge, and Manny?s not a judge, and they?re crying at us like we robbed them. We?re not the judges and we didn?t call the fight. There were a lot of close rounds, but Manny was more aggressive and it?s not out of place to see the more aggressive guy get the swing rounds.
FF: Aside from the complaining they did about the decision, the one thing I wanted to touch on a bit was the tremendous improvement Manny showed from the first fight to the rematch. What kind of adjustments do you think you guys made that allowed Manny to be more successful down the stretch?
FR: It?s his rhythm and his movement. When Manny gets up on his toes and starts with that in-and-out motion, and comes in and flurries real quick, and gets out of the way real quick? that?s when he?s at his most effective. We worked on that a lot. Because one thing about Marquez, he?s got fast hands but he?s really slow with his feet. He sets himself a bit too much because he?s looking to counter-punch. When Manny uses that style, he gets Marquez reaching for him a little bit too much and it?s very effective. I wish we?d done more of that early in the fight.
FF: Is that a general improvement Manny has made in the last few years in that he?s become more difficult to hit, moves in and out of range, and moves his head very well?
FR: His defence is much better than it was. In the past he was a fairly easy guy to hit and now he?s a lot more elusive. There was one point in the fight when Manny was laying on the ropes making him miss and he was having fun with it. I wish he would have countered a bit more after making him miss, but he was content with showing his defensive skills out there and how much he?s improved at that. He?s getting better all the time, and I still believe he can be better.
In the Marquez rematch his hook wasn?t there as much because Marquez stopped using his jab a lot. We?d worked on throwing the hook over his jab and Marquez abandoned his jab a bit because he?s a smart guy and he knew what we were up to. After that he lead with his right hand quite a bit in the fight and that was something we didn?t see coming as much.
FF: Did Manny use his right hand enough in the fight for your liking or was that an adjustment Marquez made to take that away?
FR: It was an adjustment Marquez made. Manny tried, but the way Marquez moved and lead with his right took a lot of that opportunity away from us.
