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| (Photo © Chris Farina / Top Rank) |
It’s been some time since trainer Freddie Roach was actually inside his Wild Card Boxing Club. For weeks or months at a time, he can be away from his renowned gym while traveling to various locales in his role as a color commentator and trainer, most recently conducting the first half of Manny Pacquiao’s training camp in the Philippines. But he touched down in Southern California on Saturday night as he and the “Pac-Man” resume their training to face Tim Bradley on June 9th in Las Vegas.
Monday was the first day he worked with his fighters at the Wild Card since late March.
“It’s been awhile,” admitted Roach, who put Pacquiao through the paces on Monday. “Been in the Philippines with Manny and Amir [Khan] and we had a good training camp over there and it’s good to be home, though.”
The last time we saw Pacquiao, he was on the fortunate end of a controversial decision against arch-nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez back in November. After telling anyone who would listen that they would finally get rid of the Mexican counterpuncher, it’s not clear if Roach and his charge were more disappointed or embarrassed by the outcome.
“A little of both, to be honest with you, because we had a great training camp and then everything fell apart in the last week. Some of these distractions got in the way and nearly split he and his wife up. She wanted to file for divorce and stuff like that because the distractions were just too much,” explained Roach of the turbulent moments leading into that fight. “It was the first bad night we had in 10 years, so it was just bad timing and Marquez had a lot to do with that too because it’s a tough time every time we fight. The thing is, we had a good training camp; we all predicted knockouts and so forth and it was a little embarrassing, yeah.”
The camp might have been too much of a good thing as they may have peaked too soon, according to Roach, who made some adjustments this time around. “We didn’t start sparring till six weeks out. Last time, we started a little bit early because [Pacquiao] wanted to help Jorge Linares get ready for his fight. But the thing is, he had a lot of distractions in his life going on and it finally caught up with him.”
Yeah, Pacquiao was a rolling stone.
“So he got rid of all his distractions,” said Roach, who went through the whole laundry list of vices. “He gave his cockfighting farm away; he gave his nightclub away. He doesn’t gamble anymore; he doesn’t play basketball anymore. He doesn’t play darts anymore. He’s just cut everything bad out of his life and he went to the Bible. He’s going to Bible study now and he goes three times a day.”
Asked if he can see the newfound commitment to the Lord and domestic life translate in the gym, Roach answered affirmatively, “100 percent.” He admits that in the wake of what he witnessed leading into the Marquez fight and how Pacquiao performed that night, he had some concerns about how much his fighter had left in the tank. He says those worries no longer exist after their most recent time in Baguio.
So how does Pacquiao get up for Bradley, a fighter who’s relatively unknown and with whom he has no personal history with?
Roach says the motivation is very simple: “People are telling [Pacquiao] that he’s shot and all that because of his last performance and he wants to show the world that he’s not and that’s our motivation. He knows he needs to shine in this fight and Mike Koncz, everyone in camp, people want to see Manny Pacquiao knock people out and not win decisions. Manny understands that.”
So what does Bradley bring to the table?
“A lot of heart,” said Roach of the young man from near Palm Springs, who established himself as the best junior welterweight in the world and has never tasted defeat as a professional. “I think his dad’s really hard on him; I think he’s been brought up rough. I think his dad pushes him. The kid won’t quit.”
The knock on Pacquiao was that recently, he had not been fighting either A) African-American fighters or B) opponents in their physical primes. The “Desert Storm” is both and perhaps the best athlete Pacquiao has ever faced. “I’m not sure how athletic he is. He’s a workaholic; I know that, like Mayweather is in the gym and like Manny. He says he’s the best conditioned athlete in the world and that he’ll be there standing at the end. My bet is that Manny Pacquiao is the hardest worker in the world and he’ll be standing in the end.”
Source: matchboxing.com
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