FightFan.com caught up with the legendary Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, CA to get his thoughts on the upcoming Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya mega fight. Only on FightFan.com!
FF: Freddie, what do you think about how their strengths match up? I?ve seen you hitting the mitts with Oscar and you hit the mitts with Manny all the time. How do you feel they size up to one another in that regard?
FR:Manny hits much harder. There?s no doubt about it. We have the advantage when it comes to the punch and there?s no doubt about that in my mind. We?ve also got the edge in activity and speed and Oscar, well he can?t pull the trigger anymore.
FF: FightFan.com here at the legendary Wildcard Boxing Club with Freddie Roach.
Freddie as always thanks for taking the time to catch up with the FightFans at FightFan.com. We just wanted to get your thoughts on the upcoming Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya fight. Can you tell us how training is going for this fight with Manny, and if anything is different?
FR: Not too much is different. We?ve got bigger sparring partners but otherwise it?s just working as usual. We?re feeding him a bit more which is good. He?s at 152 pound right now and his body fat is at six per cent. He?s in really good shape and everything is going well. I?m very happy.
FF:This is a very big fight now that it?s coming off but it?s a match up that you?ve actually been talking about for a long time. I was wondering if you could comment on why this is a match up that you?ve always thought was a good one for Manny?
FR: The thing is Manny really gets up for big challenges and this is a big challenge. Humberto Soto was supposed to be our next fight and Manny just doesn?t get up for a fight like that. Oscar De La Hoya he can really get up for. I trained Oscar for a fight and I think that to make it down to 147 he?s going to struggle. My guy weighed 147 pounds going in to the David Diaz fight the day of the bout and he was having trouble making 135. So I think his best weight is probably around 140 right now . When the opportunity came up to fight Oscar at 147 I thought about it and I believe my guy can win the fight and that?s why we?re here.
FF: Some people immediately label this a size mismatch. Do you see it that way?
FR: You know size doesn?t win fights. Speed, power, boxing ability, a game plan, activity? my guy has fought four times in the last year or so and Oscar hasn?t fought four times in four years.
FF: What do you think about how their strength matches up? I?ve seen you hitting the mitts with Oscar and you hit the mitts with Manny all the time. How do you feel they size up to one another in that regard?
FR:Manny hits much harder. There?s no doubt about it. We have the advantage when it comes to the punch and there?s no doubt about that in my mind. We?ve also got the edge in activity and speed and Oscar, well he can?t pull the trigger anymore.
FF: What do you think about the style match up?
FR: Oscar?s advantage is his jab. That?s his strength and we have to get past it. That?s not a secret in the match up and I?m not going to pretend it is. That?s Oscar?s best weapon and we need to get past the jab and get inside. We want to fight at close range and that?s our goal and our job. That?s what we?ve been working on in the gym and by fight time we?ll be ready for that jab.
FF: Do you expect Manny?s defense to play a role in this fight? Some of the southpaws who?ve troubled Oscar in the past have also been slick defensive fighters. Manny has certainly improved somewhat in that regard in recent years. Do you feel that will be a factor in this fight?
FR: He?s improved but when you?re the type of offensive fighter that Manny is, you put yourself out there to be hit. Manny will get hit. That?s part of his game plan because that?s the way he fights. He?s very offensive and very explosive. When you go for it you put yourself in harm?s way at times and I believe he can take Oscar?s punch.
FF: How much do you guys need to watch out for Oscar?s left hook?
FR: A lot! Oscar has a good left hook, but he can put the right hand in his pocket, I don?t care about that. Every trainer Oscar has ever had has tried to improve the right hand and it hasn?t happened.
FF: Can Manny afford to bang with Oscar? Can he stand in there and trade punches with him? I think back to some of the action fights he?s had where he gets hit and he clasps his gloves together above his head and invites guys on into a fire fight with him. Can he afford to do that with De La Hoya?
FR: Yep.
FF: Fair enough. What about Oscar?s trend in recent years of fading late in fights. Is that something you plan to take advantage of, and will you be looking to step up the pressure as the fight goes on?
FR: We?re going to step it up from round one and make this guy fight. Oscar tires in slow paced fights, and we are going to push him and push him and push him.
FF: I wanted to ask your thoughts on Oscar bringing in Nacho Bernstein for this fight. Nacho is a guy who did a good job preparing Juan Manuel Marquez for two fights against Manny. What does he bring to the table that helps Oscar in this fight?
FR: Can he make Oscar turn in to Juan Manuel Marquez? I don?t think so. I think Oscar is what he is at this stage of his career. He has his own thoughts and obviously he?s a smart fighter who was great in his prime but he?s not even rated in the top ten anymore at welterweight, never mind pound-for-pound rankings.
Oscar has brought in the legendary Angelo Dundee, who?s a good friend of mine and a great guy and he?s probably the biggest asset to Oscar?s camp. I like Angelo and he?s a very knowledgeable guy but can he help Nacho in this fight? I don?t know.
FF: Freddie, what do you think about Manny?s motivation in taking this fight? A lot of people are quick to throw out the dollar figures but Manny does quite well for himself financially in and out of the ring. What do you think this fight really means to him?
FR: Well ,you know the money doesn?t hurt, but it?s really about what it does for Manny?s future. He?ll fight mega fights. He?ll likely get to fight Ricky Hatton (if he beats Malignaggi in a few weeks) and maybe even Floyd Jr. ?.if he wants to step back in to the ring which I hear he may. It puts him at a new level and I think a lot of Oscar De La Hoya fans will become Manny Pacquiao fans.
FF: Do you think there?s any personal element in this fight? I know that there was some friction between the two of them over previous promotional dealings?
FR: You know they?re both gentlemen but they don?t like each other. They won?t talk trash though? that?s my job!
FF: Do you think the Mexicans are going to support Manny? I?m hearing a lot of rumblings about that.
FR: Of course! Manny fights like a true Mexican warrior. They?ve never liked Oscar and he?s never really had their support and nothing is going to change there.
FF: You guys have had some great sparring with some bigger fighters, junior middleweights, and the likes of Amir Khan. Can you comment a bit on how sparring has been going?
FR:Yea we?ve been working with Marvin Cordova Jr. and Rashad Holloway. Amir Khan has been a real asset to this camp because he has very fast hands, a better jab than Oscar?s and he has the height. I?ve had those three guys and Yuri Foreman is on his way in. We?ve had some really good work in sparring so far and everything is going very well.
FF: The last thing I wanted to ask you about was the weight. You said Manny is 152 pounds right now and I know in the past you?ve closely monitored what he?s weighed in at as opposed to how much more weight he puts on, before stepping into the ring. What are your thoughts on that this time around?
FR: Well, we?ll weigh 147 at the weigh in and we?ll enter the ring around 150 pounds. His speed and power are there at 150 and I think anything heavier than that and he could be sluggish and lose some speed, so 150 is our limit.
FF: Excellent. All right Freddie, I think that?s all we had for you. As always thanks for taking the time to catch up with FightFan.com.
FR: Thank you.
