Freddie Roach was supposed to take a day-off Tuesday after coming from a long-haul flight from London to Los Angeles.
The celebrated trainer of Manny Pacquiao had already instructed Marie, his assistant at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, that he will instead show up at the gym the next day to kick off Pacquiao?s training camp so he could catch up on some sleep.
So while the rest of the Wild Card regulars went through with their usual routine, Roach didn?t really have forty winks as he had told his amiable female assistant.
Instead of charging his batteries following that exhausting three-day press tour in London and Manchester to promote Pacquiao?s May 2 battle with Ricky Hatton, Roach was actually at work even as he sat in his couch, the rest of the world oblivious to the fact that he was up to something.
It wasn?t really something bizarre but Roach?s decision to cut his free time only shows that the Boston-bred former fighter wants no less than an overpowering performance for Pacquiao.
“I have been watching tapes of Hatton?s fights,” Roach told the Bulletin as the sound of the TV blaring in the background.
Hatton?s last fight an 11th-round stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi last November was actually on the screen and while Roach believes there?s “not much to learn” he recognized the fact that the presence of Floyd Mayweather Sr., who made his debut as trainer of Hatton in that fight, is something to look at.
Roach didn?t actually concentrate on the Hatton-Malignaggi fight and also viewed some other key fights of Hatton, including the one with the rugged Puerto Rican Luis Collazo, who had the Manchester native in dire straits before losing on points.
Roach?s decision to watch some of these fights is in preparation for the opening of Pacquiao?s training camp starting Wednesday although he made it clear that everything?s going to be light and easy the first time Pacquiao shows up.
“I will try to get him use to Michael Moorer,” said Roach, referring to the former heavyweight champion who has been at the Wild Card the last two months and who Roach tapped to call the shots when he travels back to England to work the corner of rising British lightweight Amir Khan.
Roach leaves for Manchester this Sunday for Khan?s face-off with Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico and should be back on March 15.
“Manny should begin sparring on March 17, and that?s six weeks before the (Hatton) fight,” added Roach.
