Only three mornings remain before the world’s most anticipated boxing event. Isn’t this exciting? The wait? The hype? The agony of hearing about Manny Pacquiao’s distractions in Baguio and Manila and, two weeks prior to fight day, all these “problems” fading away as Freddie Roach predicts a knockout victory? And yes, isn’t Mr. Roach always correct? Remember his prediction of a Round 2 KO against Hatton—he got that one right. That’s because Freddie Roach is a psychic. He also tells the truth. He doesn’t do this talking to intimidate enemies—this isn’t “trash talking.” It’s The Master having supreme confidence in The Student. What’s the latest prognosis of Freddie, the modern-day Nostradamus?
“Well you know, he’s got a reach advantage, and he’s tall, and he’s going to be a lot bigger, of course, but size doesn’t win fights—skill does. We out-skill him in every aspect—speed, timing, and I have no fears whatsoever,” said Roach in an exclusive interview with Jenna J of On The Ropes Boxing Radio Show in the article written by Geoffrey Ciani.
“I think it’s going to be an easy fight if Manny fights the right fight. The only problem I have is that some people say that Manny can’t bang with the big guys and that he’s not strong enough and Manny wants to prove that he is big enough. So somewhere in the fight he will go on the ropes and he will bang with him. We’re prepared for that, but the thing is I would rather see him outbox him. Knowing Manny Pacquiao, he’s going to try to bang with him and he’ll be successful because again, we’re ready for it. The thing is, I think the best way to fight Margarito is to outbox him, but again, we’ll do whatever it takes.”
Roach was asked about the weight differential between the Filipino and the Mexican. “You know what, Pacquiao weighed 147 pounds yesterday after a workout,” said Roach in this Nov. 9 interview. “He’s going to go into the ring at 149 pounds, his prime fighting weight. If he Pacquiao comes in a little heavier, like at 152-153, he’s a little slow and a little more sluggish. I know my fighter’s prime fighting weight, and again, we’ll be about 149 pounds and Margarito will be by fight time 160 to 165. Again, I’m not worried about the size of this guy. Speed and skills are going to win this fight, and Pacquiao outweighs him in those departments easily.”
As to Roach’s final words during the interview, he said, “Well Margarito is a little bit of a slow starter. We’re going to start quickly on him and we’re going to overwhelm him with combinations and speed. I think we’ll break Margarito down and I think we’ll knock him out in about eight or nine rounds and I think he just won’t handle Manny’s speed. The speed is going to be way too much for him.”
Read the entire piece here.
