|
20 Minutes With: Freddie Roach
To say Freddie Roach’s 2008 was successful would be an understatement.
A veteran of 53 pro fights in a career that ended two decades ago, the Massachusetts native turned to training after retirement and has reaped even more rewards as a lead corner man – including three nods as “Trainer of the Year” from the Boxing Writers Association of America.
His 2008 highlights included a three-fight stretch by lead client Manny Pacquiao that yielded wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya, world title belts at 130 and 135 pounds and widespread recognition as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Test No. 1 of 2009 comes May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where Roach and Pacquiao take on fellow pound-for-pound elitist Ricky Hatton in a 12-round bout for a single sanctioned world championship belt – the International Boxing Organization’s junior welterweight title.
Roach, 49, chatted recently with IBOBoxing.com about working with Pacquiao, preparing for the big fight and where he and his man might wind up if things go well in Vegas.
IBOBoxing.com: Five or so weeks out from fight night, how are things going? Is everything where it needs to be?
Freddie Roach: Everything’s 100 percent ready to go. We’d be ready to go have the fight today if need be. Manny’s already at 146½ pounds and weight’s not a concern at all. He normally makes weight in the last couple of days, so everything’s gone exactly according to plan.
IBOBoxing.com: What is the ideal length of a training camp? Does it differ from fighter to fighter?
Freddie Roach: He’s already been training for four weeks and we’ve got plenty of time to go. For some guys six weeks is enough. What I’ve learned is that you can’t change who these guys are, so you can’t apply the same rules to everybody.
IBOBoxing.com: Is there any advantage for you as a trainer because you were a fighter?
Freddie Roach: I think there’s a little bit of an advantage, but probably not huge. I’ve known plenty of guys who weren’t fighters but they were great trainers. The guys I work with know that I’ve done it and they trust what I say. But not everyone I’ve worked with has seen me fight. Manny’s one of those guys who’s not really a boxing fan. His idol growing up was Oscar, so that’s why he did it, but he doesn’t know the history. We older guys have more stories to tell, but I’m so busy now that I can’t even watch fights anymore.
IBOBoxing.com: Do you find it challenging to not implement your fighting style onto a particular guy, rather than devising strategies that play to his strengths?
Freddie Roach: I had the right teacher in Eddie Futch. He told me that I could never expect people to be like me. My first world champion, Virgil Hill, was about as different from me as a guy could be. He was a beautiful boxer. The truth is that when a guy gets hit in the ring he’s going to revert back to whatever he is, not to what you’ve programmed him to be, so it’s best you don’t try to get too cute.
IBOBoxing.com: Remembering back to last March, before the Marquez fight, could you have anticipated the year that you and Manny would have? As confident a guy as you are, was it at all surprising?
Freddie Roach: No, I can’t honestly say we saw it coming. After the first two, the Oscar fight just came up and it was icing on the cake. We’re of the mindset where we just take each fight as it comes, but, sure, looking back on it, it was a great year. And it’s a great honor to be recognized three times by the boxing writers.
IBOBoxing.com: You were right on target with your pre-fight prediction on the De La Hoya fight, and you’ve made no secret of the fact that you think Manny will knock Hatton out in three rounds. Do you really believe it’ll be that dominant?
Freddie Roach: Yes. I’ve studied Hatton for two months now and I’m very confident about Manny’s chances. Hatton is a guy who’ll be right in front of you and he gets hit a lot. A lot of guys have hurt him, but no one’s ever finished him when they had him hurt. Manny Pacquiao is a finisher. I think he’s going to bust him up and stop him within three rounds. It’ll be another Thomas Hearns-Marvin Hagler fight, I believe. Very exciting for as long as it lasts.
IBOBoxing.com: Assuming it all goes according to plan on May 2, what’s next for you and Pacquiao?
Freddie Roach: Business-wise, the biggest fights to be made are with Floyd Mayweather, if he’s really coming back to the ring, or with Juan Manuel Marquez. There are a lot of options and we want to wait to see the possibilities. As far as who else, we hear that Chavez Jr. has been making some noise about a fight, but the weight might be too big a difference. Bottom line, though, Manny will fight anyone. Hell, he’d fight (publicist) Fred Sternburg if that’s who we told him was next in line. He just wants to be a champion.
Return to
previous page
|
