LAS VEGAS—Trainer Freddie Roach is so obsessed with making sure Manny Pacquiao climbs the ring in topnotch condition that he has forgotten to make a visit to the sportsbook.
Roach has placed bets on Manny Pacquiao a few times in the past, but is unsure whether he will be able to do so in time for Saturday night’s big bash featuring the Filipino slugger and Mexican Erik Morales at the Thomas and Mack Center.
“It wasn’t even on my mind until you told me,” said Roach on Thursday afternoon as he was preparing to supervise Pacquiao’s light workout at the IBA Boxing Gym. Roach then asked about the odds, and when somebody from the promotional group Top Rank mentioned that it’s still dead-even, he shrugged off and walked toward the exit.
Roach is so caught up with Pacquiao’s condition that he did not even bother to make a short trip to the Pechanga Casino in Temecula, California, to call the shots for Armenian Kahren Harutyunyan, who faces Los Angeles-based Filipino Nonito Donaire in a 12-rounder super-flyweight tussle. Famed for his never-say-die attitude during his heyday in the 1980s, Roach, 45, said by the time he arrives at the venue, the fight would have been over.
“I have to fly to San Diego and then drive to the venue and I don’t think I will be there on time,” said Roach, who held a behind closed doors training with Pacquiao with two days remaining before fight night. Roach hooked up with Pacquiao in mid-2001 and for this fight with Morales, he and Pacquiao began to see each other at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, in the first week of December.
