?All good things must come to an end,? pontificated Big Steve while devouring a fried potato ball at Porto?s Bakery in Glendale:? Considering all Pacquiao distractions, retirement talks and new found faith, do you think we might witness an end to an era of Pac mania??
Thirty three years old idol from Philippines, Manny Pacquiao has transformed from an obscure and exciting power puncher into a global superstar. Being a star has its privileges, such as adulation of the whole country as well as the whole boxing universe. Being a super star has its drawbacks, such as complete loss of privacy and a constant scrutiny of tireless media. Lately, majority of media reports have been concentrating on Manny Pacquiao renewed faith and retirement talks. Is it a concern coming into a June 9th showdown with undefeated American, Timothy Bradley?
?Manny has got rid of a lot of distractions in his life, ?said Pacquiao?s trusted Coach, Freddie Roach when I asked him about it last Monday:? And I think it is going to make my job a lot easier.?
Roach who is widely considered the best coach in boxing today has a very busy schedule ahead; May 19th, Amir Khan?s rematch with Lamont Peterson and June 9th Manny Pacquiao title defense against Timothy Bradley.
?We spoke, ?said Roach when I asked if he heard from his star pupil:?He told me he wants Alex and Amir over there on Wednesday. The first two weeks of conditioning workonly. They are going to work togetheron conditioning with each other. ?According to Roach Pacquiao and Khan will not spar with each other this time around, but will work side by side preparing for their respective challenges.
Timothy Bradley has been in a media spot light as of late, sounding more and more confident about his chances to dethrone the king of sweets science on June 9th. HBO PPV will broadcast an event live directly from Mecca of Boxing, MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. I asked Freddie Roach how he felt about it.
?We are pound for pound the best fighter in the world,? Roach said:?We are taking on all challenges. We can’t turn people down. That?snot what we are all about. We will fight anyone anywhere. Manny Pacquiao will prove heis the pound for pound king. Right now Timothy Bradley is the one in front of us and we’ll take care of business. Again, it’s going to be a tough fight. He is very game tough fighter, very physical and I am looking forward to a good fight.?
Can Freddie Roach manage to balance out his duties as a trainer between two star fighters along with his new position of TV boxing analyst? Can Manny Pacquiao keep his eyes on the task at hand? Tune in June 9th.
