Boxing trainer Freddie Roach said the other day Manny Pacquiao has reached only 75 percent of his potential as a fighter and will eventually invade the 135-pound ranks where Diego Corrales looms as a dream opponent.
“Manny’s getting better all the time,” said Roach who arrived here for a brief visit Friday morning and left for Los Angeles last Sunday night. “He’s still working on a lot of things, like becoming more comfortable using the right hand. I think he’s got three to five more years of championship boxing left. He’ll stay a superfeatherweight at least for another year because there’s still a lot of great fights at 130 pounds then he’ll move up to 135.”
Roach singled out Corrales as an opponent in the near future. Corrales is an all-action fighter who was once the superfeatherweight titlist and now reigns as lightweight champion.
Roach hardly had a moment’s rest during his visit. He came to confer with Pacquiao on a training schedule for his July 2 fight against Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum, to attend the inauguration of Pacquiao’s new office at the Tektite building, to receive a citation at the Elorde Boxing Awards Night and to meet with movie producer Mommy Rose Flaminano on a possible role in Pacquiao’s life story on film.
Roach told TV reporter Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN he has taken only two vacations in his life because he’s a confirmed workaholic. He passed up invitations to soak in the sun at Boracay and Nasugbu and flew back to Los Angeles after two nights and three days here.
On Pacquiao’s training schedule, Roach said the fighter will open camp at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles in May then after three to four weeks, they move to Baguio for more intense workouts with three sparring partners brought in from the US.
“We’ll start off in L. A. and get ready to go,” said Roach in a STAR interview. “Then, we’ll train up in the mountains (Baguio). We’ll bring in at least three sparring partners. We’ve got a short list of candidates. They’re not name contenders but they’re all aggressive fighters who won’t back down from Manny. We won’t reveal who they are until we’ve locked them in. They’re guys who aren’t afraid to mix it up. They’ll come at you like Larios.”
Roach said Pacquiao will work on his feints and right hook in camp. “We’re always looking to get better,” he continued. “Manny did a lot of good things against (Erik) Morales in their rematch and we’re going to improve on his head movement and right hand.”
To beat Larios, Roach said Pacquiao has to be in tip-top condition like he was in knocking out Morales.
“Manny’s got to be in the best shape of his life against Larios,” said Roach. “(Promoter Bob) Arum thinks Manny’s crazy in taking this fight which he considers too tough for a tune-up. Larios is a dangerous opponent because he’s a big puncher and he always comes forward. He’s very active inside the ring and I expect him to bring his A-game to the fight. He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain against Manny. And a win over Manny right now is huge for any fighter. This is not going to be an easy fight for Manny.”
Roach said Larios, a former World Boxing Council superbantamweight champion, will be stronger and bigger against Pacquiao in their fight which has a 130-pound limit.
“Size will not be an advantage for Manny,” said Roach. “Larios is coming in at 130. He’s had difficulty making 122 and that was the reason why he lost the title to (Israel) Vasquez. Larios claims 130 is his best weight now. I expect him to fight Manny straight up. He”ll come forward and that’s why I like him as an opponent. He’ll trade with Manny and he won’t take a step back. It’ll be a heckuva fight.”
Roach said Pacquiao fighting Marco Antonio Barrera in a return bout will be more of a challenge than a rubber match against Morales.
“A third Morales fight will probably be an easier fight for Manny because Morales took a severe beating last time out,” said Roach. “I’m not even sure if Morales can ever recover from that loss. Only time will tell. As for Barrera, he’s hungry for revenge. Since losing to Manny, he’s been looking good. I expect a tough fight in the rematch because Barrera is a proud warrior and wants to pay Manny back.”
As for Pacquiao’s rising global popularity, Roach said he’s not surprised.
“Manny’s the most exciting fighter in the world today,” said Roach. “He’s extremely popular and well-liked in the Philippines. His fan base is growing in the US and he’s becoming more and more popular, what with all those magazine covers. Of course, there’s always the concern that he might be overwhelmed by the media hype. Arum is worried that Manny might try to do too much to impress the homecrowd in the fight against Larios. But Manny’s not taking Larios lightly because he knows what’s at stake.”
