Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach spoke about the upcoming fight against Floyd Mayweather after watching his pupil, two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming, lose his first title fight to Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand on Saturday (March 7) in Macau.
Roach’s biggest challenge will be when his protégé Manny Pacquiao faces off with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on May 2 in a long awaited mega bout.
“I don’t think he’s (Mayweather) passed it at all. I think his legs are a little shot, a little worn, and I think Pacquiao has better legs at this moment at this time. I think maybe Pacquiao is a little faster and hits a little bit harder. Mayweather has a little fragile hands and is not the biggest puncher in the world. But I think we have more assets to win the fight I feel,” Roach told Reuters.
A duel between the defence-minded Mayweather and the aggressive Pacquiao, the biggest draw-cards of their generation, has been savored by boxing fans, if only to decide the mythical title of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
Showtime and HBO will jointly broadcast the bout, which is one of the most eagerly anticipated in boxing since the classic 1975 ‘Thrilla in Manila’ between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
However, both Mayweather, 37, and Pacquiao, 36, are in the twilight of their respective careers and most pundits say they have lost some of their skills in the ring.
“I think Pacquiao is going to win the fight but it’s not an easy fight believe me. We have to fight the perfect fight to win, that I know. This is our best opponent by far. This is the biggest challenge of my life and I love a challenge. And studying this guy he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He doesn’t have any bad habits. He is a very difficult fighter to beat but I think we can beat him yes,” said Roach.
The fight has been five years in the making and Roach is confident it will live up to the hype.
“I do believe it will live up to the hype at this point. I think it will be a better fight now because Mayweather doesn’t move as much as he used to so he has to exchange a little bit more so it does make it more exciting. But five years ago I would have probably favored Mayweather, now I favour Pacquiao,” said Roach.
Pacquiao lost much of his appeal after successive defeats to American Timothy Bradley and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, prompting talk of his possible retirement, though he has since bounced back with three impressive wins.
The welterweight showdown in Vegas is projected to be the most lucrative ever in boxing history with Mayweather expected to have a 60-40 split advantage on revenues, earning a minimum of $120 million and Pacquiao at least $80 million.
Five-division world champion Mayweather, who is known for his shrewd business acumen, had been expected to meet Pacquiao in 2010 until negotiations collapsed over the American’s demand for random drug testing.
Mayweather has hinted at illegal methods by often questioning how Pacquiao could have won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight classes.
Mayweather announced last September, after he scored a dominant win over Argentine Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas in his most recent bout, that he would retire in late 2015 when his Showtime contract ends, after two more fights.
(Reuters)
