Last week, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard announced that he would train and work the corner of Peter Manfredo Jr. for his upcoming super middleweight clash with Joe Calzaghe on April 7th. With Manfredo’s trainer Freddie Roach headed to Puerto Rico on March 1st to train Oscar de la Hoya exclusively for his May 5th fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roach will not be present to complete Manfredo’s training or work his corner. Roach also won’t be in the corner for Israel Vasquez’s super bantamweight fight against Rafael Marquez on March 3rd, however Roach will complete his training. Additionally, Roach’s assistant and conditioner, Justin Fortune is expected to train and be chief second for Manny Pacquiao’s bout with 27 year old Mexican super featherweight, Jorge Solis on April 14th.
Fightnews spoke to Roach regarding Leonard, Manfredo and his objection of how Solis was selected as Pacquiao’s next opponent. This is what he had to say:
Ray Leonard has stated that he will train Peter Manfredo and will work his corner for the Calzaghe fight. If so, who else will be in Pete’s corner? Yeah. Ray will be in the corner. But so far… I haven’t seen him here in the gym yet. (Laughs) Pete’s been training here for the last 3 weeks and he’s looking really good. In fact, I’m training him right now. Pete’s father will be in the corner, and so will Justin and a cut man. Pete Sr. will be the boss and the one to give instructions because he knows his son better than anyone else. I’m a firm believer that only one person talks in the corner – just so there’s no confusion. Of course Ray was a great fighter and I’m sure he’ll have some suggestions. But if he has something to say, he will tell Pete Sr., and they will talk during the rounds. It’s nothing against Ray Leonard, and I’m sure he understands – but Pete Sr. and I have a game plan that we’re working on in the gym.
So what is the game plan and what are your thoughts on Calzaghe? I’d rather not discuss the game plan. But a lot of people are telling me Pete is in over his head and so forth. But I don’t think so. I know Calzaghe real well. But he’s only been impressive in one fight though, and that was against (Jeff) Lacy. But I think Lacy had a lot to do with that, because I don’t think he was prepared to fight a southpaw that night. Jeff’s power went to his head a little bit and I think he thought he could just walk through Calzaghe. Now, I’m not talking bad about Jeff, because Jeff is my friend. I just think Jeff underestimated Calzaghe – who is a good boxer. But so is Peter Manfredo, and he’s getting better all the time. Pete is looking great in sparring and we’re making all the adjustments that we need to make to fight a southpaw. He’s doing really, really well and I actually like him in the fight. Of course it’ll be tough to go to Wales and win a decision, but I do believe that Pete has the tools and skill to hang with Calzaghe, and I don’t believe that he’s in over his head.
It looks like Manny Pacquiao will be fighting Jorge Solis (32-0-2; 23 KO’s) on April 14th in Texas. What are your thoughts on Solis as an opponent?
I have no idea who he is! You know, they accepted him as an opponent without seeing a tape on the guy. No one knows who he is! They saw his record of 32-0 and said: ‘He’s o.k.’ And that’s unethical on Bob Arum’s part! Bob should have sent me a tape because he knows I’m the trainer and I usually decide who we accept or don’t accept. I’ve always gotten a tape before. But of course, Bob Arum doesn’t like me anymore and he won’t talk to me. So he bypassed me and went straight to Manny and told him it was an easy fight. There’s no such thing as an easy fight! Styles make fights. And, how can you get ready for a fighter that you know nothing about? Is this guy a southpaw? Is he tall? Is he short? Is he a runner? How did he become 32-0? I’m very disappointed in Manny’s people for not asking me about this opponent, and for accepting the fight. This is the first time in Manny’s career that this has happened. After the first Morales fight, they sent me a tape of Zahir Raheem and I turned him down immediately because of his style. Then they sent me a tape of Hector Velasquez. I watched 2 rounds and thought he suited Manny’s style very well. I know my fighter and I know what he does well with. (Pacquiao fought Velasquez in September 2005; TKO6)
You know, when a guy gets the opportunity to fight Manny Pacquiao, they’re going to fight over their heads, because if they beat Pacquiao, they’re on top of the world. And if Manny looks bad against this guy, I’m the one who will get blamed! With Manny’s previous management, I always had the final word on the opponent. So I guess Arum is going directly to the source, and all of the sudden he’s the trainer now. Unfortunately, Arum – who was once my good friend and whom I fought for for 10 years – is trying to make me look like an idiot. But I’m not the idiot. Bob promised Manny the world and he hasn’t delivered anything yet! Manny went from the biggest fight of his life (Erik Morales 3) to fighting and unknown opponent on a small PPV show in Texas. And, Manny is the co-main event with Jorge Arce. Arce is a hugely popular Mexican fighter and there’s a tremendous Mexican community in Texas. Arce will be the draw. Not Manny. It’s like Manny is taking a back seat to Arce! In my opinion, Manny is the best pound for pound fighter in the world today, and this is a big step DOWN for him. I don’t know who is advising Manny right now, but whoever it is… they’re not doing their job.
Well, a couple of months ago it was rumored that YOU were playing a dual role of ‘advisor’ and trainer to Manny. I guess not, huh? (Laughs) Yeah, I remember that rumor! You know, I don’t know how these crazy things get started. I guess they’re started by someone with an agenda.
Have you talked to Manny about all this? I called last night and I tried to reach out for him. But I talked to a couple of his people and told them I was disappointed in them for accepting that fight without me. So now they know my position on this.
What’s the plan for Manny’s training camp? I have an open invitation for Manny to come to Puerto Rico and train with me – while I’m training Oscar. I would separate the two of them completely, and Oscar said he would have no problem with that. Before I took the job with Oscar, I talked to Manny first. And Manny said ‘Take the job!… Congratulations!’ So he had no problem with it. Oscar is Manny’s idol and has been his whole life. I would like it if Manny came to Puerto Rico with me, but I really need to see a tape of this guy Solis so I know what we’re up against. I need to know what type of sparring partners we need to get.
When it was officially announced that you would be training Oscar for Mayweather, fight fans and members of the press gave you a tremendous stamp of approval. How encouraging was that for you? It was very encouraging. And , it was an unusual choice for myself because I’ve been offered opportunities before, but I always stuck with my guys. I’ve always wanted to work with Oscar and this is the biggest fight of his life, and I think I can help him. I think I can help bring out the best in Oscar. I don’t care what Floyd Sr., or Arum has to say about me taking the job. They criticized me because they have their own agendas. Unfortunately, things like that happen in life. The same thing happened when I was asked to train Mike Tyson. (Well, it was similar, but not as big as this). Training Oscar is a big opportunity for me and it’s a ‘must win’ situation. The only way to prove that I know what I’m talking about is for him to win. I really believe that Oscar has the tools to beat Mayweather. I’ve been watching tape on Mayweather and I think he’s a great fighter, but he’s not perfect. He does make mistakes, and we just have to take advantage of those mistakes. It’s all about styles and what type of fight we fight. Nobody is unbeatable in this world.
