With Erik Morales dead set on moving up to the heavier lightweight division, Manny Pacquiao might instead go for a rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera in what promises to be a blockbuster fight that could rival the recent Morales-Pacquiao showdown in terms of form, class and style.
“I was hoping we could get a rematch right away but I hear Morales is making other plans so far. We are pushing for a rematch with Morales this September, but if that doesn?t happen we will go after Barrera?s two belts,” said Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach in an interview with Boxingtalk.com.
Pacquiao demolished Barrera in a convincing 11-round TKO win that heralded the emergence of the Filipino fighter as a world champion in 2003. But the 26-year-old General Santos native failed to firm up his claim as one of the world?s best pound-for-pound boxers, settling for a controversial split draw with Juan Manuel Marquez last year and then losing to Morales last March.
Roach admitted that they took Morales rather lightly and paid dearly for it. But the noted American trainer still believes Pacquiao has the materials, not to mention power, to dispose of the former three-time world champion.
“Manny fought a good fight, a brave fight and a lot of action. I had no problem with that, but I think we should have gone to the body a lot more. I think if we went to the body earlier in the fight he possibly could have gotten him out of there in the later rounds,” said Roach.
He also insisted that the boxing gloves that his ward used hampered Pacquiao?s bid.
“These people tell me that it doesn?t make a difference. Okay, well let?s say we give Tiger Woods a brand new pair of golf clubs, and let?s see how many strokes it costs him in the game. If we had our Reyes gloves that we are used to using, and these are the gloves that we use all across America, don?t tell me that it doesn?t make a difference, because it does. The other gloves have twice as much padding, they were not comfortable for Manny, not for punching. So we ended up using Morales? golf clubs, not ours,” he said in jest.
He also dismissed claims that Pacquiao?s decision to move up to the 130-lb category for the first time had an impact on his performance.
“Morales is a bigger guy, no complaints there. But we would like to do it again at 130 lbs, and it would be no problem. I don?t think the size was a major problem,” said Roach. “I think we took this guy a little too lightly, everyone was telling Manny that this would be an easy fight with how he beat Barerra, and how Barrera beat Morales. So I got a little tired of that.”
“With that said, we want Morales first over everyone,” he added.
