ROACH THREATENS TO GO HOME!
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 27 Aug 2007
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach, who is widely recognized as being responsible for turning Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao into the most exciting fighter in the world today, is fed up with the failure to enforce security at the gym of Rex “Wakee” Salud and has threatened to pull-out and return to Los Angeles.
In a long distance telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Roach said the gym was swarming with people today and told us he had given Salud “one last chance” to keep his promise to prevent fans from jamming the gym and effectively distracting Pacquiao from his training regimen. Roach said "if nothing happens I'm going home."
Roach said Salud makes promises and doesn’t keep them reminding all concerned what happened to Pacquiao in the first fight against Erik “El Terrible” Morales when fans crowded the Wild Card Gym and Pacquiao couldn’t focus on the fight itself and eventually lost.
When strict measures were imposed in the gym and Pacquiao trained in seclusion he simply ripped into Morales and knocked him out in the last two fights of their famous trilogy.
Philboxing.com reported that droves of fans invaded the gym from even far-flung Cebu towns prompting Roach to ask “who are these mysterious people showing up at the gym. They suddenly came out of the woodwork and the guards can't seem to stop them.”
Salud told us late this afternoon that he was in a meeting in which they were drawing up plans for issuing passes to watch Pacquiao train even to media, while Roach, except in special instances, doesn’t want video cameras when Pacquiao is sparring. Salud promised that he would “definitely impose strict measures beginning tomorrow” although Roach was apparently unimpressed telling Philboxing “I will believe it when I see it.”
The onlookers, estimated to be more than a hundred, came to the RWS gym this afternoon to watch their idol in sparring.
Roach (with glasses) was obliged to pose for a photo-op by fans in the middle of Pacquiao's training.
Photos by Dong Secuya.
There is also concern expressed by diehard fight fans about Pacquiao playing basketball while in the midst of training, warning that he risked unnecessary injury although Pacquiao said he only shoots from the outside.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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