Say what, say what and say what again? That’s the basic response from Manny Pacquaio head trainer Freddie Roach when I reached him early Friday morning at his Puerto Rican living quarters. Roach’s say whats were in immediate reaction to the news that Pacman told an international media conference audience Thursday that he was “unsure” if his boxing mentor would be in his corner against rugged Mexican Jorge Solis on Aprl 14.
The second and third say whats were his answers when I told him that his training understudy Justin Fortune said on the same media conference call that he had no certainty as to whether Roach would jet to Texas to run Pacman’s corner on fight night.
Somewhere, as that nice warden said in the flick “Cool Hand Luke,” there is a failure to communicate in the Pacquaio camp. Roach said neither his fighter not his assistant trainer should have “any doubts”about his taking a brief recess from his training duties in P.R. with Oscar De La Hoya to be at Pacman’s side in the PPV fight in Texas.
“There is no doubt,” Roach said. “I told both Manny and Justin I will be there. I am coming in on the day before the fight. Both Manny and Justin know very well that I am going to San Antonio. They both know for sure, no doubt, that I will be there to do my job just like I always do.”
Roach said that new De La Hoya camp arrival Sugar Shane Mosley would do some sparring with his equity partner in GBP on Saturday. Roach said he is quite pleased with how Oscar’s camp and conditioning are coming along with a month to go before the May 5 Super Fight in Las Vegas against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Roach said he is not in the least bit concerned that Filpino politics or the ongoing litigation between Top Rank and Golden Boy over Pacman’s services or anything else will distract Manny from his job at hand, beating Senor Solis.
“Manny has had distractions his whole life,” Roach said. “I talk with Manny every day by phone. I looked at tape on three of Solis’ fights and I left the tape at the Wild Card gym so Manny could study it along with Justin. Manny is in great shape, he came over to the US in pretty good shape and he will be very strong on April 14.”
Finally, I asked Roach about alleged remarks by Floyd Jr.’s uncle and head trainer Roger Mayweather in which he said he should “give Freddie a slap.”
Calmly, cooly, Roach had a nifty reply, taking a dig at the fact that “Black Mamba” Roger just finished a Vegas jail stint for assaulting two females.
“Why should Roger give me a slap, for what reason? Roach said. “You can tell him I’m not his grandmother. I’m a little bit tougher than his grandmother.”
