MANNY PACQUIAO GUNNING FOR THAT ELUSIVE KO WIN
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 25 Oct 2016
Seven-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach is all praises for his favorite boxer, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. He said the fighting senator is physically powerful and well prepared for the November 5 encounter with Jessie Vargas.
?His condition is really, really good. His timing is very good, and his power is unbelievable. He?s very strong right now,? Roach was quoted by spin.ph. At the same time he criticized Vargas? capability to endure Pacquiao?s explosive blows come fight night.
?Vargas is a tough guy, a two-time world champion and pretty durable. The only problem is he doesn?t have a big punch and doesn?t have that punch. He is not a big puncher,? Roach told The Manila Times.
Roach revealed that Pacquiao hurt him while working on the punch mitts and rehearsing combinations to the body. He predicted a knockout victory for Pacquiao in the later rounds.
?He?s doing a lot better and explosive and we?re going to see a different Manny Pacquiao on November. In fact, he really hurts me during our mitts session as he almost ripped my body armor. Those shots were really hard,? Roach told reporters.
Former world champion Gerry Pe?alosa reinforced Roach?s viewpoint on the outcome of the upcoming WBO world welterweight title fight. ?This is simple, Vargas is not on the same level as Pacquiao. He's an okay fighter, but nothing compared to Manny Pacquiao who is a legend," Pe?alosa told GMA News Online.
"Vargas is at a disadvantage when they meet inside the ring. He already lost when it comes to experience, speed and power so I just can't see how he could beat Pacquiao," added Pe?alosa, the senator?s close friend.
Pe?alosa, like Roach, believed that Pacquiao's upcoming bout would end his knockout drought.
"Vargas gets stopped in the late rounds. Vargas might have pride, I don't see him quitting so the referee will have to stop the fight," Pe?alosa predicted.
He appreciated how the former pound-for-pound king punished himself in practices. "Maybe if Senator Manny didn't train for this fight then he might stand a chance. But we all saw how he punished himself in training. He really worked hard and punished himself for this training camp which was probably inspired by the criticisms he took."
Pacman fans all throughout the globe salivated for the KO win which we haven?t seen since he stopped Miguel Cotto in November 14, 2009.
Promoter Bob Arum defended Pacquiao?s lack of KO in his fights. ?We haven?t seen him knocking people out like he did so spectacularly at one period of his career,? Arum said to Yahoo Sports. ?He is scoring a lot of knockdowns. He had six knockdowns against Algieri and he had Bradley on the deck twice in his last fight.?
Arum explained that a knockout victory depends also on the way how the opponent fights. And most of Pacquiao?s foes evade his punches when they are about to be knocked out.
?It?s not that he?s not hitting hard. He is hitting hard, but opponents fighting him are more cautious. The ability to knock out a guy isn?t a one-way street. It?s also the opponent. If the opponent is looking to survive and not firing as many shots as he could, then it?s a lot more difficult to do. It?s not impossible, but it?s a hell of a lot harder when the opponent isn?t willing to open up.?
Photo: Manny Pacquiao (C) runs Monday morning in Los Angeles. Photo by Jhay Otamias.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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