ROACH DEVISING FIGHT PLAN FOR PACQUIAO
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 16 Mar 2015
LOS ANGELES ? Manny Pacquiao?s chief strategist Freddie Roach has picked up his prized student?s training chores at the Wild Card camp for only a week from assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez in preparation for his coming super-fight with Floyd Mayweather jr..
The Filipino ring icon and the unbeaten American face off on May 2 in Las Vegas in a fight dubbed the ?Fight of the Century?.
It follows, most-likely, that the 55-year-old Hall of Fame guru continues on what Fernandez and another deputy, Roger ?Haplas? Fernandez had started since preparations begun in General Santos City, which was concentrated on how to penetrate Mayweather?s touted defensive prowess.
One game plan, according to Roach himself in an interview after his return from Macau, is to use the World Boxing Organization welterweight champ?s offensive clout built around his speed in his bid to cut short the undefeated American?s 47 wins.
The fighting Sarangani Congressman, too, is aiming to seize the Olympic bronze medalist?s World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association 147-pound crown.
Speed in both hands and feet that gifted him 57 victories, 38 of them knockouts in 20 years of fighting that netted him 10 world titles in eight weight divisions.
Roach though knows such a strategy is easier said than done, saying in a talk to one of the very few writers granted interview that his training team, will be working on a lot of things starting this week on until Pacquiao?s group leaves for Las Vegas on April 27.
While the idea is to attack, attack and attack, ?we must know how to do it,? adding that ?we know that he (Mayweather) is a very smart fighter, so smart and knows how to set his opponents up for his known counter shots.?
The best weapon, according to the seven-time strategist of the year is to take Mayweather out of his comfort zone, to nullify or at least minimize the things he does best.
In other words, Pacquiao must learn and know how and when to throw his punches without sacrificing his strength and the number the Filipino is capable of throwing.
In eight of his last fights, Pacquiao was throwing a minimum of 26 shots per round. This happened in the 12th and final round of his points victory over Miguel Cotto.
The father of five with wife, Sarangani Vice Gov. Jinkee, could throw as many as 116, 117 and 120, the most in his career, which he showed against similarly defensive fighters Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.
Against Clottey, Pacquiao hit the century marks in the last six rounds: 108 shots in round 8, 106 in round 9, 120 in round 10, 117 in round 11 and 103 in round 12 in emerging triumphant via unanimous decision. Those were beside the 116 he made in round 4.
He actually averaged 103 punches a round against Clottey firing a total 1,231 in 12 rounds
Against Margarito Pacquiao found his target 104 times in round 7, 116 in round 10 and 101 in round 11. His average accuracy in that fight held in Dallas was 79 percent. His next highest average of 98 percent was against Cotto where he threw 780 punches.
In the week that past, Roach has been teaching Pacquiao to make the right moves before attacking and recognize when Mayweather tries to set him traps before committing to anything.?
He explained that Mayweather tends to follow the enemy around the ring a little too much and wasn?t effectively cutting off the ring in his last fight. ?You can?t follow Floyd around like that. He?s too smart and will walk you into shots."
Roach noted though that ?Manny is already looking really sharp in the gym. We?ll be ready to beat Mayweather in the remaining six weeks in the camp.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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