In boxing over the last 3 years, there has been one fight that has been talked about more then any other, that being a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. The fight was debated over and over by critics and fans alike, and despite the buzz for the event, the bout never happened when the fight was at the peak of it's hype. Now in 2013 fans thoughts on the bout have changed, as Manny Pacquiao's definitive knockout defeat has forever changed fans views on the match, and the fight talk has shifted to what could of been.
In part 2 of my interview with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, he touches on the bout he believes fans still want to see the most, Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Freddie also comments on Pacquiao's upcoming fight against Brandon Rios, and gives his thoughts on this choice of opponent. In addition, Roach discusses Juan Manuel Marquez's choice to fight Timothy Bradley instead of Pacquiao, and also comments on that upcoming fight. Here is what Freddie Roach had to say.
JENNA J: Freddie, there were other opponents being talked about before Brandon Rios was picked, as Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley were both approached for the fight. Were you disappointed that you didn’t get either of those options for Pacquiao’s next bout?
FREDDIE ROACH: Well I’m real disappointed because the only fighter we wanted to fight was Marquez, we wanted the rematch. Manny was looking forward to it, I was looking forward to it, and then he went in a different direction. Hopefully he will fight us back someday, but you know, he chose not to fight us so we had to go with the second choice. We’re in a tough fight with a tough young guy coming up, it should be exciting though.
JENNA: Yeah, now you mentioned Brandon Rios should be exciting, he’s known for his wars in the ring. Are you at all worried that Pacquiao might get drawn in to that type of fight?
Roach: That’s fine with me, I know I have the better puncher and I know what type of fight we’re gonna fight in that fight. We’re gonna have a great game plan, we’ll fight to our advantage, believe me, I guarantee that 100%.
JENNA: You mentioned before that you thought the rest would be good for Pacquiao, to have him out of the ring longer. Do you think he’ll have any ill effects at all from that knock out to Marquez?
ROACH: Well you know, everyone reacts differently. Manny’s a pretty bright guy, he knows there’s a winner and a loser, he knows we made a mistake in the fight and you know before I took Manny Pacquiao over, he was knocked out twice before and he didn’t have any effects from those knock outs. I think he’s a realist, he understands the sport, he got caught and he knows that’s possible in this game. But the thing is, Bob Arum and I gave him a long rest, Bob took him to a neurologist to make sure everything’s ok, we got 100% ok stamp and he’ll be fine.
JENNA: Alright Freddie I want to turn things now to a fight that’s going be taking place onSeptember 14th, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Canelo Alvarez, they’ll be meeting at a catch weight of 152 lbs. I’m curious what are your thoughts on this fight and do you think it is as big as people think it’s going to be?
ROACH: Well don’t call it a fight cause it won’t be a fight , it’ll be a boxing match, ok. It’s definitely not a fight, it will be a very good boxing match and I feel Floyd is too slick for Canelo and I think he’ll win a decision. But the thing is, when Floyd boxes well, like he did in his last fight, it’s a little bit boring at times. It’s good for the eye of a big boxing fan and so forth, he’s very skillful but it’s a little bit boring. Don’t expect a big fight, I think people are expecting a war but Mayweather does not fight like that, he will box all night long.
JENNA: Alright now Freddie, what other fighters are you working with currently that you want to let the fans know about?
ROACH: Well I'm talking with Miguel Cotto right now, and we’re working things out and I'm excited about working with him. George St-Pierre has been coming up, he's getting ready for his next fight, I went up to Montreal for 10 days to work with him and then he came back here, so he's getting ready for his fight, and I got Ruslan Provodnikov who's getting radio for a fight, our opponent has not signed the contract yet so we don't have one currently, but we do have a date in October 19th, and Ray Beltran, he's one of my fighters and he's getting ready to fight for a world title over in Scotland, so we’re quite busy, we got a lot of things happening.
JENNA: Ok well Freddie, I have one final question for you. With all the fighters that you are working with, if you could have one fight for any of your fighters in the future, what would that fight be?
ROACH: Well I still want the biggest fight in the world, I want Mayweather to step up and fight Manny Pacquiao, he said Pacquiao is washed up, go in the ring and we will see!
JENNA: Thank you so much Freddie for once again coming “On The Ropes” I wish you all the best with all the fighters you work with in the future.
ROACH: Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
