Brad Cooney chats with the legendary trainer
Freddie Roach remains steadfast in his beliefs that his champion horse Manny Pacquiao will be victorious in a clash against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya. Roach informs BoxingHerald.com that he believes that this fight is close to becoming a reality, and that in the end, it will be Pacquiao that will have his arm raised in victory. Check out what else Roach had to say in this exclusive interview.
BH ? Freddie, thanks for joining BoxingHerald.com.
FR ? You’re welcome Brad, thanks for having me.
BH ? Freddie, I want to talk about this whole Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya fight. Can you give us an update on how the negotiations are going?
FR ? Last I heard there is still a debate on what size gloves the fighters will wear. We want eight ounce gloves. Oscar wants to come into the fight at 151 lbs, and we want him at 147 lbs. They are still working on the money; Oscar wants to keep all of it, it seems.
BH ? What’s Oscar asking for right now?
FR ? I heard he wants a 70/30 split.
BH ? 70/30? That’s crazy.
FR ? Bob Arum is in charge of all of that, and he knows what he’s up against. He’ll do a good job, I am sure.
BH ? What is your gut telling you Freddie, do you think this fight is going to happen?
FR ? Yep, I believe so. The thing is Oscar has a December 6th date, and I just don’t think there is anyone else out there for him to fight. Margarito says he doesn’t want to fight another Mexican, so who else is there? Who else has a big enough name for them to get the money that they want to get?
BH ? A lot of people are concerned, Manny Pacquiao fans especially, about the size differential. Do you have concerns about how much bigger Oscar is than Manny?
FR ? Well, obviously he’s bigger, but he’s a lot older too. He’s past his prime, and the thing is Manny weighed in his last fight at 135 lbs, and he was 146 lbs by fight time. The same will happen in this fight, by fight time Manny will be 146 lbs. If Oscar weighs in at 147 lbs, there will be about a 10 lb weight difference. We have a huge advantage in speed, and power advantage, and we will overwhelm those odds. I will never take a fight that my guy couldn’t win. It’s not an easy fight by any stretch;p I know it’s a tough fight, but when you want to make this kind of money, and fight the best out there, that’s what it’s all about.
BH ? Freddie, if Manny gets knocked out by Oscar De La Hoya because of the big weight difference, do you worry about your reputation with the Pacquiao fans around the world? Do you think this is a real roll of the dice taking De La Hoya?
FR ? No not really because I just don’t see it happening. I don’t see Oscar knocking out Manny, when he couldn’t knock out Forbes. If he did knockout Manny we would go back down; we still have the title at 135 lbs. Manny has been knocked out before; he knows how to come back from things like that. Manny has been knocked out by a body shot once, but that will never happen again. Manny is a realist; he knows that there is a winner and a loser. When he lost to Morales the first time, he came back and won the next time.
BH ? What happens if Paulie Malignaggi beats Hatton? If that happens, do you see a Pacquiao vs. Malignaggi fight down the road a piece?
FR ? The question is, does that fight make sense business wise? If Paulie doesn’t automatically get that English backing behind him, it doesn’t. There are other fights out there, like Marquez if he beats Casamayor. That might be out next fight win or lose against Oscar. That would be a fight people would want to see as well.
BH ? What about Nate Campbell? He beat the crap out of Juan Diaz; he has three belts.
FR ? Yeah, Nate Campbell is a dangerous guy out there. He beat Diaz soundly, but if he sticks his chin out like he does sometimes, he’ll get knocked out. He is definitely a challenge for anyone at 135 lbs; he’s crafty, and he has experience, and he’s physical.
BH ? If Manny ends up fighting Oscar, and with you having trained Oscar, do you feel it will be Manny’s speed that will be his ticket to victory?
FR ? It is speed yes, but it’s how we use Manny’s speed — we have to use it correctly. It’s not as easy as just being faster than De La Hoya. I know Manny will have to fight the perfect fight; I know that. I am not scared of the challenge, and neither is Manny. Manny wants to fight him. If we fight the perfect fight, we can beat this guy. Speed is one of our assets, but it’s not just speed. We will have to execute a game plan to perfection, and we already have a game plan figured out. I know how to fight Oscar, and I know that I am a better coach than Mayweather is, so let’s see what happens.
BH ? A win over De La Hoya in my opinion will set up a monster payday fight for a Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather [Jr.] fight. A pound for pound king fight of the decade. Tell the truth Freddie, is this what you guys are looking at on the Roach radar?
FR ? Well, Floyd is not an older guy like Oscar De La Hoya, and maybe hasn’t lost a step like Oscar has. If we beat Oscar in good fashion, Floyd could be next. With that said, I still think there is more money in a Pacquiao vs. Hatton fight. I don’t think Floyd sells tickets; I am sorry to say that. I like Floyd; he’s not like his father or his uncle, he’s a respectful guy. That would be a huge fight for everybody, but does it sell tickets? If we can make money with that fight, then yes, but I think Hatton is the way to go. If Paulie wins over Hatton, then Floyd would be a future opponent after we knockout Oscar.
BH ? After you guys knockout Oscar? Freddie you got a lot of confidence in that.
FR ? I have confidence, I have said this before that at 147 lbs in his prime, Oscar is too big. But he’s not in his prime anymore. Manny showed me in his last fight against Diaz that he’s capable of fighting the perfect fight, and he’ll need to fight like that again to beat Oscar.
BH ? In my opinion Manny is in a win, win situation. If he wins against Oscar, obviously it sets up big money to fight Mayweather or Hatton. If he loses, he lost to a legend in De La Hoya, a bigger De La Hoya. His stock doesn’t drop at all in my book.
FR ? We’re not just doing this for money. Manny and I want to beat Oscar; he’s a legend. A win over Oscar puts Manny at a whole new level. If he wins he will go down as not only the greatest Asian fighter of all time, but he will go down as a top 10 greatest fighter of all time. It’s a calculated risk, and I know Manny can do this. He can pull off a perfect fight, and I know it’s a lot harder than fighting Oscar Diaz, but does Oscar really want to put it out there like he did when he was younger? When Oscar fought Steve Forbes, I just didn’t see him doing that great. I disagree with those who though Oscar looked good; I think if Forbes was busier he could have won that fight.
BH ? My point was even if Manny loses to De La Hoya, his stock isn’t damaged.
FR ? No, it doesn’t damage his stock, but I don’t like to talk about losing [laughing], I want to skip that part Brad [laughing]. I know it’s a tough fight for Manny, but I know he can win this fight. If we lose, OK, we lose, and maybe we bit off more than we could chew, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
BH ? OK, so if this fight goes down, when do you want Manny in Los Angeles for camp?
FR ? I would like to have him for 10 weeks, but realistically, we’ll probably only have him for eight weeks. This fight we will have to work on strategy and get the best sparring partners available. I already have Rashad Holloway; he’s perfect for Manny to spar with. We will be having a private training camp that will be closed to EVERYBODY. We will have to be in great shape and execute the perfect game plan.
BH ? Freddie thanks for your time. Do you have any closing thoughts for the fans out there?
FR ? Have faith in this fight guys, we need all of your support. We appreciate the support that you have given us in the past, and we thank you very much.
