ROACH PREDICTS PACQUIAO WILL KO BARRERA AGAIN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 16 Aug 2007
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach has predicted that Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao will knock out legendary Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera once again when they meet in an eagerly awaited rematch at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on October 6.
In an interview on the popular radio talk show hosted by award-winning journalist Pedro Fernandez, a former Golden Gloves champion, Roach said “if I get Manny in shape Manny will press him and he will knock him out again.”
In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Roach said he is arriving in Manila early Thursday morning along with newly crowned WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa who won the title with a stunning seventh round, one punch knockout over Jhonny Gonzales.
Roach conceded that Pacquiao inflicted a terrible beating on Barrera when he scored an eleventh round stoppage in their first meeting in November 2003 in San Antonio, Texas but that Barrera has shown a remarkable ability to come back from defeat as he did against Junior Jones and Erik “El Terrible” Morales besides losing a close fight to Juan Manuel Marquez.
Roach said Barrera has “revenge in sight and he hates that he lost to Manny and the way he lost to him and he wants to get back.” The two-time “Trainer of the Year” said that when he saw Barrera at the recent news conference in Los Angeles Barrera “seemed in pretty good shape already. He is taking this fight seriously.”
Boxing writer Marl Vester of boxingscene.com reported that Barrera is fully focused on the October 6 rematch and that when Pacquiao stopped him, the Filipino southpaw was simply the better man. Vester quoted Barrera as saying “Four years I waited for this fight. Manny Pacquiao won the first fight clean. It was a good night for him.”
Vester said Barrera is “looking to outbox Pacquiao but more than willing to brawl if the Filipino slugger makes it a dogfight.” Barrera himself said “If he wants a war I’ll go to war. I’ll do the best I can to give a very good fight to the people. This is my last big fight. I want to fight more, but this is my last big fight.”
Roach reiterated his claim that Pacquiao is “the most exciting fighter in the world today pound-for-pound” compared to Ring Magazine’s No. 1 Floyd Mayweather. He said Mayweather “is not a finisher . He’s not a complete fighter in my mind. He’s a great boxer but Pacquiao is getting better all the time – he boxes, he punches, he’s aggressive and he’s fun to watch.”
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