Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach does not want his most famous pupil, Manny Pacquiao, to get seriously hurt in the ring.
The 38-year-old boxer was roughed up two weeks ago, when ge lost a twelve round unanimous decision to huge underdog Jeff Horn at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The scores were 117-111, 115-113, 115-113.
During the fight, Pacquiao suffered two bad cuts from head clashes, but he also appeared to be a few steps below from even the 2016 version of Pacquiao.
One of the big problems says Roach, is Pacquiao's inability to slow down in camp. He says the boxers over trains because he continues to work just as hard as he did in his twenties.
He would rather see his boxer retire from the sport or at the very least have one more fight, against Horn. There is a rematch clause that Pacquiao can exercise. If the the rematch does get exercised, Brisbane has the contractual right to match any financial offer to secure the second fight.
“His work ethic is still very, very good, and he trains very hard, but he probably trains too hard. He tries to do what he did when he was younger, and you can’t do that. It’s part of life getting old. . . . He’s got to realize he’s 38 years old now and not 28,” Roach said to USA Today.
“Basically, he’s a senator, a fighter and father. He has a wife and kids. So the last thing I want to see is for Manny to get hurt. That’s why I lean toward retirement or one more fight with Horn. I think Manny got robbed. He definitely won the fight.”
“Does he give us a rematch in America? Does he give us a rematch in The Philippines? Does he give us a rematch (in Australia) again? I’ve had a great run with Manny. It’s been a great ride. If he retires or fights one more time, we’ll see. But I want to watch the (Horn) fight very closely and break it down and see where that brings me. And I’ll give Manny a call and we’ll talk. We’re really good friends.”
2023-10-18 22:50:18
