I?m betting my house on Manny ? Roach
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 09 Nov 2010
LOS ANGELES, CA (via Pera Padala) ? ?I am betting my house on Manny.?
Manny Pacquiao?s chief trainer Freddie Roach declared this Sunday, eve of his team?s departure for Dallas going into the last week of preparations on the Filipino ring idol?s quest for a history-making eighth-division championship.
?And had I married and had children, I will also bet them that Manny will beat (Antonio) Margarito and etch his name in boxing history as the first man to win an eighth title in as many divisions,? he added, saying that what he saw in the three weeks that Pacquiao trained at his Wild Card Gym had turned the course of their build up program.
?After our stint here following Manny?s so-so performance in Manila and Baguio confirmed my earlier belief that he is still the same man I used to know, the best boxer in the world,? the 50-year-old boxing guru said.
The four-time ?trainer of the year? admitted that for a while, while the camp was in Baguio, he thought he had lost his hold on his prized pupil of 10 years.
?I thought that politics added for the numerous distractions that normally accompanied his training in his previous fights. It did, but after I saw him dedicate his best in training here, I believe Manny hasn?t changed,? he said.
?He regained his focus. He trained really hard to the extent of killing himself. When I told him to stop, he asked for more. That?s the Pacquiao of old and as such, he will again win as he had done too many times before,? he said.
?And I pity Margarito for he is coming direct into a trap. He?ll be walking into a storm that will destroy him comes fight night Saturday next week,? he predicted of the fight for the vacant World Boxing Council super-welterweight crown set at the huge $1.2 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
Pacquiao, in a separate interview, confessed, he, too, was worried of his condition at the start of the camp.
?We wanted to add weight to at least close the gap between me and Margarito, to lessen his advantage in size and power. But as a result, I became sluggish. I got slower and couldn?t move as I wanted to,? he admitted. ?I tried to hide it, but still you, the press noticed it and you wrote about it.?
?Freddie and myself talk things over heart-to-heart upon arrival here. I told him the effect of our training regimen. He agreed with me and told me to do whatever I believe is good for me. Since then, the course of our training improved. That made him happy,? he recalled.
?Me, I have never felt so great, so happy and so relaxed. As I have been telling you, I?m ready even if the fight is held tomorrow, I?m prepared,? he assured.
Last Saturday, after his penultimate training day at Southern California, the 31-year-old Filipino sensation showed confidence never seen in him even in his similarly tough fights before.
He was so relaxed and happy horsing around with his handlers, displaying the punches he said he will use in knocking out the ?Tijuana Tornado.?
He even mocked how Roach, who is inflicted with Parkinson disease, walks and how he reacts in doing mitts with him that drew laughter from the crowd and laughter from his trainer himself, who fell from the ring as a result.
?His actions after Saturday?s workout was a good sign. That means our regimen worked well. His daily runs up and down Griffith Hill, his hundred rounds of sparring and doing the mitts have started reaping fruits,? Roach assessed.
?Now, I?m no longer scared,? he said
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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