FREDDIE ROACH had wanted to have a word with his prized pupil on the eve of his journey back to Los Angeles.
The Boston-bred Roach did not actually have an urgent message to deliver, but it was obvious that what he had in mind was a face-to-face meeting and not an informal talk over the phone.
Roach did try his best to arrange a meeting when he asked to be driven to the Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday night so he could catch Manny Pacquiao and talk even for a few minutes.
“I went to the Araneta (Coliseum) but he wasn’t there,” said Roach. “So I went back to the (Diamond) hotel.”
Roach had a long Tuesday as he had to grace a press conference launching a boxing camp that will be staged at the Body Worx Fitness and Spa (tels 410-3866) on West Ave. in Quezon City.
The owners of the sweat shop had tapped Roach to personally conduct a boxing clinic and the bespectacled former fighter was thrilled over the project.
Told that Pacquiao was flying over from General Santos City since he had an entry in the three-day World Slasher Cup at the Big Dome, Roach said he would certainly love to meet the Filipino southpaw before he leaves for the States.
When Pacquiao arrived at the venue, Roach had already left and Roach boarded the Northwest Airlines jet yesterday morning without having the chance to see his favorite fighter.
“Just tell him to get in shape,” Roach said minutes before the 7:50 am Northwest flight took off for Tokyo en route to Los Angeles.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Roach, obviously referring to the planned April 28 fight with rugged Korean puncher Injin Chi in Macau.
Roach wants Pacquiao to train for a total of eight weeks, half to be spent at the Wild Card in Hollywood.
But would Pacquiao agree to such a long training schedule considering the quality of the opponent?
“Manny doesn’t listen to me anymore. He listens to (Michael) Koncz,” said Roach at the Body Worx.
Koncz is the Canadian boxing adviser of Pacquiao and he is widely credited for persuading the pugilist to sign up with Top Rank.
