ShareThisBy EDDIE G. ALINEA
MANILA — With only a little over two weeks before Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao puts his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title on the line against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, chief trainer Freddie Roach expressed belief that his prized pupil of 11 years is ready to teach his challenger a lesson.
“Yes, Manny will teach Marquez a lesson on the ring,” Roach assured in an interview. “The way Manny has been conducting himself in training and how aggressive he is in sparring, I think he’s looking for the knockout. “
“If it (knockout) comes, it comes,” Roach said, noting that Marquez looks to have put on a lot of muscle obviously to catch up on Pacquiao’s advantage in that department. “I guess he thinks he needs that strength. Personally I think that will slow him down and that will be to our advantage.”
Roach believes that the training camp the team pitched in Baguio City, then transferred to Los Angeles, is the best since the two of them teamed up in 2001.
“Manny is on fire. He boxed 11 rounds Saturday with three sparring partners. His timing, his distance, it’s all coming together. Boxing fans will be seeing the best Manny Pacquiao yet,” he said. ”This is because, as I said, he wants to teach Marquez a lesson on how to respect people.”
Pacquiao has dominated some of the new sparring partners in the last two weeks. He gave undefeated African boxer Hastings Bwalya a bloody nose, and on Thursday, he knocked down Scottish fighter Jaime Kavanagh twice.
Roach reiterated that Marquez’s going to the Philippines following the split decision against Pacquiao in 2008, wearing a T-shirt saying he beat Pacquiao twice, was a slap on the face of the Filipino boxing hero which he has not forgotten.
Pacquiao, in a separate interview, concurred with his trainer’s assessment of his preparedness, saying, “I’m focused on making my strength and speed be the best they can be. It’s harder to train [in the Philippines], it’s high altitude — it’s hard to breathe, the air is so thin where I go, at 7,000 feet [above sea level]. But it helps my stamina and energy, which I want to be very strong in this fight.”
“I’m always dedicated in my training, but this fight is really important to me. Because it’s our third fight — our last fight — I have to end all the issues, all the doubts in people’s minds about beating him. I know I need to be in 100% condition to do that. You always hear me say I want to make the people happy, make the people satisfied with my fights. I want to be happy too,” he said.
“I don’t think Manny’s going to let up on Marquez like he did to his last opponents (Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley). I think he’s going to knock Marquez out this time. Manny has improved a lot and is vastly better now than when they fought the first time,” Roach said.
Roach likewise expressed amazement on his ward’s endurance despite his many years of fighting, especially the last few years against heavier, bigger opponents.
“His work ethic has remained the same as when we got started. I think it’s getting better and better as time goes by,“ he said. “Sometimes, he asked me if I noticed him slowing down. He told me that If I see him slowing down, just tell him. I said yes.”
“He’s still the same Manny Pacquiao machine. He’s still going strong. Manny Pacquiao is not nearly done yet.” (PNA)