VARGAS TRAINER SAYS PACQUIAO IS STILL A BEAST AND HAS THE PASSION FOR BOXING
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 13 Sep 2016
The trainer of WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas says eight division world champion and Philippine senator Manny Pacquiao is ?still a beast? and has ?the passion for boxing.?
In an interview with well-known boxing writer Steve Kim of Boxing Scene, Dewey Cooper said Pacquiao who announced his retirement in April prior to running for a seat in the Senate where some 16 million Filipinos voted him into office, announced he was coming back because he continued to have a passion for the sport which he indicated was his life and he had made a mistake in announcing his retirement.
Pacquiao?s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank believes Manny has two more fights left in him for 2017 and hopes, like Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, that one of the fights will be a rematch with the now retired Floyd Mayaweather Jr who had an unbeaten record of 49-0 and was Pound for Pound King.
As Dewey Cooper prepares Jessie Vargas to defend his WBO welterweight title on November 5th versus Manny Pacquiao, he still sees a great fighter in the other corner. Pacquiao will face Vargas who is somne 10 years younger at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on November 5.
Kim stated that while some experts believe Pacquiao is no longer the same, not the same fighter who became an eight division world champion, the trainer of Vargas disagrees. When asked to compare the current Pacquiao to the one that was rampaging everything in sight five years ago, the trainer told BoxingScene.com - "Pacquiao's still a beast and all in this time frame but however, the knockout loss to (Juan Manuel) Marquez (in 2012), he started to be a little more patient since that fight which is not a bad thing. So Pacquiao's still great, he still has his speed, he still has power, he's still really into fighting. He has the passion for it.?
Cooper added, ?in our minds we're facing the 2009, 2010 Manny Pacquiao and that's how we want it because we want the best Manny Pacquiao."
The 37-year old Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KO's) last fought on April 9th where he decisively out-pointed Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley. Vargas whose only loss was to Bradley when he had the champion in deep trouble in the final round when referee Pat Russell stopped the fight ten seconds before the final bell thinking that the clapper was the final bell.
Bradley who has a record of 27-1 with 10 knockouts won the WBO title on March 5th by stopping Sadam Ali in nine rounds.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Fit To Be Unified: Xander Zayas Defeats Abass Baraou To Unify Junior Middleweight World Titles
Sun, 01 Feb 2026Fit To Be Unified: Xander Zayas Defeats Abass Baraou To Unify Junior Middleweight World Titles
Sun, 01 Feb 2026Trazo beats Jabagat in Talisay
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Feb 2026Into fights Sanchez on Feb. 9 at Villa Kristen
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 01 Feb 2026Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson: Styles Make Fights Fitting Cliche
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 31 Jan 2026Bryan Flores Wins Majority Decision Over Starling Castillo in Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’ at Live! Casino Hotel Maryland
Sat, 31 Jan 2026KinetixSports Legacy Run on March 1
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 31 Jan 2026THE RING 6: OFFICIAL WEIGHTS AND RUNNING ORDER FOR TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS. SHAKUR STEVENSON
Sat, 31 Jan 2026Legendary Soccer Player Sergio Ramos to make professional boxing debut
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Sat, 31 Jan 2026Weigh-In Results: Xander Zayas vs. Abass Baraou
Sat, 31 Jan 2026Teofimo vs Shakur Fight Analysis
By Ralph Rimpell, Sat, 31 Jan 2026Rohan Polanco-Christian Gomez Welterweight Showdown Canceled
Sat, 31 Jan 2026NEWCASTLE WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS MURTAZALIEV AND KELLY CLASH FOR WORLD TITLE
Fri, 30 Jan 2026Boxers Make Weight for Brico Santig’s Exciting 21-Bout Promotion in Thailand (PHOTOS)
By Carlos Costa, Fri, 30 Jan 2026“It’s time for TSABZ to shine” Get to know Tanaka Saburi as he retuns March 13 in Perth – Thunderdome 53
Fri, 30 Jan 2026