Manny Pacquiao may have ended up losing to Erik Morales in their titanic showdown last year, but it is Morales who got the worse end of the fight.
At least, that’s how Freddie Roach sees it.
Roach, Pacquiao’s highly acclaimed trainer, told a boxing news website that the action-packed 12-round duel between Pacquiao and Morales in March 2004 undoubtedly took a lot out of both fighters – especially the 29-year-old Morales.
“The Morales fight was very rough. Fights like that can take something out of you,” Roach was told FightBeat.com yesterday. “But I think it took more out of Morales than it took out of us.”
Roach, however, disclosed that the loss remains a painful memory.
Distractions
“Losing sucks. I hate it, and I’ll take responsibility for it everytime. Maybe I didn’t do my job correctly and let too many distractions get in the way,” said Roach, who is currently training Pacquiao at his storied Wild Card Gym.
“But, we have a good team now and everyone is on the same page. I think it’s going to make a big difference.”
Pacquiao is set to take on Mexican Hector Velazquez in a pay-per-view super-featherweight (130-pound) fight on Sept. 10 at Los Angles’ Staples Center.
In the co-feature, Erik Morales will take on 1996 Olympian Zahir Raheem in a lightweight (135lb) match-up. Both bouts are scheduled for 12 rounds.
Gym closed
Pacquiao’s training regimen this time, however, is different from his previous ones. To the dismay of Pacquiao’s fans, Roach has now enforced a closed-door policy on Pacquiao fans, or any fan, for that matter.
“I told them that if they really are Manny’s fans and want him to win, stay away,” Roach said. “Training’s going very well. I had to close the gym down for Manny because he had too many distractions last time.”
Roach said the fans were a big headache when Pacquiao was training for the Morales bout.
“When we were preparing for the Morales fight, the Filipino fans loved to show up and watch him work out. But I noticed Manny started performing for them and not for me. I want him working on technique, not just putting on a show for his fans.”
If Pacquiao and Morales come out victorious in their respective bouts, the two star pugilists are expected to step into the ring for their eagerly anticipated rematch in January 2006. Rumor has it that the contracts have already been drawn up for the multi-million Pacquiao-Morales II early in 2006.
Roach declared that Pacquaio will be in top form after he completes his training at Wild Card.
“I expect the best out of Manny on Sept. 10, because I know what he can do if he just puts his mind to it.”
