EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: FREDDIE ROACH

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: FREDDIE ROACH
By Brad Cooney


Boxingtalk sat down with famed fight trainer Freddie Roach and got his thoughts on Manny Pacquiao's performance against Marco Antonio Barrera. Roach also talks about Pacquiao possibly moving up in weight to 135lbs for his next fight. Additionally, Roach fires back at current WBC lightweight world champion, Joel Casamayor for some recent comments that the champ made about Pacquiao.


BT – Congratulations on the win over Marco Antonio Barrera.

FR – Thank you.

BT – Please give the readers your assessment on Manny's performance last Saturday night against Marco Antonio Barrera.

FR – I think he did well, we worked on his footwork in training camp. We also worked on head movement and his in and out motion. Barrera was looking to counter punch, so the fight wasn't as exciting as the first fight.

BT – Were you guys pretty much anticipating that sort of style from Barrera this time around?

FR – Yea we pretty much thought so. Either he was going to come out and try to take us out early, or try to out box us.

BT – What were some areas that you saw that you would like to see Manny improve on for future fights?

FR – Everything worked pretty good for Manny, some of the things we worked on in camp like learning to sit down on is punches when he comes down on his toes. He needs to learn how to sit down on his punches a little bit more, we'll work on that.

BT – What was going on when you told Manny during the fight, “Stop fooling around!”, and do you think by Manny not going for the knockout in the final round that he was showing Barrera some respect?

FR – Yea (laughs) Manny kept looking over at Barrera's corner and smiling at him in between the rounds, so I asked him, “Who the Hell are you looking at?, stop fooling around!.” They have a mutual respect for one another and it was a good clean fight up until the cheap shot by Barrera in the 11th round.

BT - It looked like Manny got a little hurt after that, was he hurt?

FR – He told me that it did hurt him a little bit, I didn't think so, but he said he was hurt a little bit. Manny recovered quickly though, no problem.

BT – What was the deal with Manny being 2 pounds overweight the day before the weight in?

FR – Well he was so light in The Philippines, and with the humidity over there it wasn't the same as here. He was checking his weight on his own scale, and not on the official scale. When he got to Los Angeles he had a little bit of trouble maintaining his weight, so he had to do some bike work for a little while, and he took of the weight no problem.

BT – Are you planning on moving him up to 135lb?

FR – The thing is we can make 130lb no problem. There are a lot of big fights at 130, the winner of the Marquez fight, the winner of the Solis fight, there are a lot of good fights at 130lbs. The 135lb weight class isn't as attractive, so we'll think about it, maybe for one fight.

BT – WBC Lightweight world champ, Joel Casamayor said that Manny is scared to fight him.

FR – You know Manny and I went for a walk yesterday and Casamayor drove by in his car and yelled out that he wants Manny next, and now he's saying that Manny is scared to fight him. Joel came into the gym one day and shook Manny's hand, and then he talks shit when Manny's not in front of him. I would let Manny fight him, that guy is washed up, I don't believe he can hurt Manny. He was a good boxer in his day, but he's washed up.

BT – Who at 135lbs makes the most sense for Manny?

FR – It would have to be a title fight, you got David Diaz, Casamayor and so forth. I guess whoever brings the most money to the table. Manny said that he would like to win the title at 135lbs and then go back down to 130lbs. We'll talk to Bob Arum, and Oscar De La Hoya in the future, and we'll figure it out then.

BT – Is Manny pleased with his performance against Barrera?

FR – Yes he feels good about it, he knew it would be that kind of boxing match. I told him later in the fight to turn up the heat some and try to end it by knockout. By that time he was playing with Barrera and being too friendly with him. Barrera being the veteran that he is baited Manny in and whacked him late with a good sucker punch (laughs). Manny learned a little bit in that moment (laughs).

BT – Did you get a chance to talk to Barrera after the fight?

FR – Yea we talked after the fight and he said that he was sorry for saying those words about me, and I said sorry for what I said about him. It's just part of getting ready for the fight, we both shook hands.

BT – Did not having Justin Fortune involved in camp have any effect on Manny's preparation?

FR – Manny was in great shape for the fight, he was strong, he wasn't tired at all during the fight. We won't be speaking about “that person” anymore, he's gone.

BT – Do you have any closing thoughts for the fans?

FR – Thank you for the support, thanks for supporting Manny Pacquiao!


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