LOS ANGELES—HE intends to come and run the show.
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach will reappear at Manny Pacquiao’s corner on April 14, a little over a month after devoting his time to Oscar De La Hoya in Puerto Rico.
Roach made the disclosure to Michael Marley of BoxingConfidential Friday after being informed that Pacquiao and his training assistant, Justine Fortune, have both expressed uncertainty as to whether he could sneak in to attend Pacquiao’s fight for the WBC International super featherweight title against Mexican Jorge Solis.
“There is no doubt,” Roach said. “I told both Manny and Justine 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’s decision may not sit well with Fortune, who have taken over as Pacquiao’s chief trainer since the Filipino’s arrival at the Wild Card Gym on March 17.
“He chose the bigger fighter (De La Hoya) and he can’t have both,” Fortune told Filipino sportswriters Friday.
In an interview with the LA Times, Pacquiao had also expressed doubts on whether Roach could be by his side against Solis.
Roach said that he’d been in constant touch with Pacquiao and Fortune since he departed for Puerto Rico.
