Freddie Roach will train six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5. The Golden Boy himself made the announcement today. Roach will replace longtime trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. Oscar said the elder Mayweather’s demand of a $2 million fee had “no impact” on his decision whatsoever and that his main reason to drop Floyd Senior was to prevent driving a further wedge between the estranged father and son. “I didn’t feel comfortable training against his son,” said Oscar, who added Roach was the replacement trainer he wanted from the beginning. “It’s a huge opportunity for me,” said Roach. “You’re going to see the best Oscar De La Hoya fighting Floyd Mayweather.”
——————————————————————————– Pre-camp workouts have already begun for De La Hoya, with his training camp to officially kick off in Puerto Rico on March 1st. Roach, who will leave his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, CA, to exclusively train Oscar in Puerto Rico, said he was congratulated by his other main fighter, super featherweight superstar Manny Pacquiao, and stated that if Manny has a fight (rumored to be April 28 against Injin Chi) during the period he’s training Oscar, Manny is comfortable working with Roach’s assistant Justin Fortune. Roach also said he spoke about his decision with other fighters under his guidance including super middleweight Peter Manfredo who will challenge WBO champion Joe Calzaghe on April 7, Robert Guerrero who faces Spend Abazi on February 23 for the vacant IBF featherweight crown, and WBC super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez who faces Rafael Marquez in a March 3 superfight.
