LOS ANGELES, California—He did not promise another classic win to lift the Filipino people again but trainer Freddie Roach yesterday said greater things are in store for Manny Pacquiao.
“He’s still young, very dedicated, he’s great but will be even greater,” said Roach, the 2003 Trainer of the Year who has handled the likes of Mike Tyson and James Toney in a colorful cornering career that saw him match wits with the world’s best trainers.
“Manny Pacquiao? That performance of his was the best of my life, my favorite win among all my fighters.”
Would he say Pacquiao was a masterpiece?
“Yeah, he fought a perfect fight. We had a good game plan, we stuck to it.”
Of course, it was not smooth sailing all the way against the crafty, vastly experienced Erik Morales in Las Vegas last Saturday.
Pacquiao did win the first two rounds but encountered turbulence after Morales settled down and trapped the Filipino warrior in a technical battle starting the third round.
Using superior power, freshly acquired skills, Pacquiao broke barriers and started to take over in the sixth round, when he nearly succeeded in flooring Morales, before dominating his foe with blazing combinations and sharp ringmanship en route to a 10th round stoppage.
Actually, Roach said, Pacquiao was behind before he decided to push the fight to a more physical level.
“After five rounds, maybe we were behind a little bit, but the plan was working to get Morales tired, wear him down with body shots, break him down, it was just a beautiful fight,” Roach explained.
With the great victory, Roach said there’s no doubt that practically all kids in Manila want to be a Manny Pacquiao.
“Your country is on top of the world now and there other kids going up, Boom Boom Bautista, Z Gorres and a couple of other kids training with me here,” Roach said.
An even greater boost to boxing in the Philippines is the planned staging of Pacquiao’s next fight in Manila which, Roach said, should materialize “before the end of April, before the rainy season.”
“I’ll see you soon, because I believe we will be fighting in Manila because HBO wants to come to Manila,” Roach told the Inquirer.
The eminent trainer added something must be done to help kids, inspired by Pacquiao, to realize their dreams.
