MANILA, Philippines – Three years ago, trainer Freddie Roach wasn?t convinced that Manny Pacquiao was a great fighter. In Mike Silver?s book ?The Arc of Boxing? published in 2008, Roach was quoted as saying, ?Manny?s not a great fighter yet, his career is still out there ? he?s a good fighter and so is (Marco Antonio) Barrera, they?re both good fighters ? but far from great.?
Roach, however, has since changed his tune. Before leaving Manila for Los Angeles with Pacquiao two weeks ago, he told The Star, ?There?ll never be another Manny Pacquiao in our lifetime, he?s set the bar so high (as an) eight-time world champion ? we?ll never see that in our lifetime again.?
Roach hooked up with Pacquiao in 2001 and since their partnership, the Filipino icon has compiled a 20-1-2 record, with 15 KOs. Along the way, Pacquiao has collected seven world titles in different weight divisions from superbantamweight to superwelterweight. He captured the WBC flyweight title in 1998 before meeting Roach. In all, Pacquiao has won titles in the flyweight (112 pounds), superbantamweight (122), featherweight (126), superfeatherweight (130), lightweight (135), lightwelterweight (140), welterweight (147) and superwelterweight (154). He could?ve added the superflyweight (115) and bantamweight (118) crowns to reach a perfect 10 but jumped two divisions from flyweight to superbantamweight. No other fighter has ever won world titles in seven or eight weight classes.
?It?s not fair to compare other people with Manny,? continued Roach. ?If someone could just obtain half of what Manny has done, he?d be great so Manny?s going to be the one and only.?
But if there?s anyone out there to give Pacquiao trouble, it?s WBC lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez who battles the Filipino for the WBO welterweight crown in Las Vegas on Nov. 12. They fought twice before with the first fight winding up a split draw in 2004 and the rematch going Pacquiao?s way via a split decision in 2008. Since both bouts were close, the fighters are expected to go all out to score a convincing win in their third encounter.
Marquez? counterpunching style is difficult to break down and that bothers Roach somewhat. ?Styles make fights,? said Roach in ?The Arc of Boxing.? ?Everybody has a style they?d like to fight. Against a certain style, I might do exceptionally well. But there is another style I might not do well against. The oldtimers had the advantage of having many more opportunities to practice fighting guys that presented a difficult style. They were also able to stay sharp by fighting so often. How can you be sharp fighting so infrequently? You fight two fights all year and what are you doing the rest of the time? If you only fight twice a year and you train year round, you?re going to be burnt out.?
For the record, Pacquiao fought twice in 2009 and twice in 2010. This year, he has seen action only once, beating Sugar Shane Mosley on points last May.
Still, Roach said Pacquiao has progressed exponentially as a fighter that no matter what style Marquez brings to the table, he?ll blow him away. ?Marquez does have the style that can give us problems but I think where Manny?s at right now, he knows how to get over that problem,? said Roach. ?He can take that advantage away from a counterpuncher and actually, turn himself a bit into a counterpuncher, drawing his leads out. We?ve got a good game plan down. We?ll take care of business. This fight won?t last six rounds. The key is footwork, Manny moving away from the right hand and not into Marquez? right hand power. Manny will take it away from him. Once he takes that right hand away from Marquez, I think he?ll be lost. We?ve knocked him down four times with the left hand. The right hand is kind of my baby, one that we?ve been working on for a long time and Marquez hasn?t seen that yet. I think the right hook is going to get him.?
Roach is convinced that Pacquiao will go for the kill. ?I don?t believe that Manny will carry this guy like he did his last two opponents,? continued Roach. ?I told him, it?s time for a knockout, get it cleared and close the book on Marquez. I think when Marquez came to Manila complaining he got robbed, it was a slap in Manny?s face. Manny?s going to take it personally and I hope he does. I told him a perfect example of being too nice a guy was the (Floyd) Mayweather fight (against Victor Ortiz). That?s what happens when you?re a nice guy. One punch can change things.?
