By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
Last month, Freddie Roach trained and led Manny Pacquiao to a knockout of Miguel Cotto for an unprecedented seventh crown in as many different weight classes in Las Vegas.
Three weeks later on Dec. 5, Roach was in New Castle, England, guiding 140-pound champion Amir Khan to a first-round knockout of Dmitriy Salita.
And on Saturday night, the 49-year-old boxing guru will be in Youngstown, Ohio, in the corner of former U.S. Olympian Vanes Martirosyan (25-0, 16 knockouts) of Glendale, Calif.
The 23-year-old Martirosyan will challenge NABF junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion and southpaw Willie Lee (17-5, 10 KOs) of New Orleans in a 12-rounder at the Beeghly Center.
The constant travel across time zones and continents and resulting jet-lag could be a lot to take for anyone, let alone someone such as Roach, who is doing so while enduring the potentially debilitating affects of Parkinson's -- the degenerative central nervous system disorder that can impair speech, motor skills and other functions.
"I pretty much just ignore it and work as hard as I can," said Roach, a Hall of Fame trainer and three-time Trainer Of The Year who is the proprietor of the prestigious Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles.
In an interview with FanHouse on Thursday afternoon, Roach shared his thoughts on Floyd Mayweather Jr., the man Pacquiao will face on March 13, likely at Las Vegas' MGM Grand or the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as well as the fighter's father, Floyd Sr., and trainer-uncle, Roger.
FanHouse: What is your secret for being so active while enduring Parkinson's?
Freddie Roach: Sometimes, when I'm with close friends, and they see me shaking, they'll say, 'Freddie, take your medication.' [Laughs.] But the thing is, it's something that I deal with, and I'm just not going to let it take over.
You've got to fight and stay active, and that's the best thing for me, at least. I'm not going to let it win, that's for sure.
FH: If you were able to sit down and talk to Floyd Mayweather Jr., how would that conversation go?
Roach: Well, I think, Floyd Jr., I could reason with. I think that we actually get along pretty well -- until I start talking trash about him. [Laughs].
After the Oscar de La Hoya fight, when I trained Oscar against Floyd, he told me, '[Oscar] would never have gone the distance without you.'
I think Floyd respects me, and I respect him as a fighter. I'd like to see Floyd Jr. recognize that he's a role model, and I don't think that he realizes how many kids out there look up to him.
I think that he should calm it down a little bit and be more respectful and just be a better role model for the younger kids growing up in the world today. He's definitely that role model.
Throwing money around, and so forth, I don't think that's being the best role model in the world. But I think that he should take that into consideration and maybe be a better person.
Again, these young kids, they want to be like him and they'll do what he does. They want to be like Floyd Mayweather Jr.
FH: Could you sit down with Floyd Mayweather Sr. without the gloves going on?
Roach: Senior, yeah, because he's not a bad guy. He has his poems and so forth, but he's rather harmless and he doesn't really offend me that much.
Sometime or another, when I'm in a bad mood, I'll fire back. But, we can definitely sit down and talk for sure.
FH: How about Roger Mayweather?
Roach: The third Mayweather -- Roger? Nah. Because he disrespects my trainer. He talks badly about Eddie Futch, and I hate that.
You know, Eddie Futch passed away and he can't defend himself. I don't like that whatsoever. But the dad, Floyd Sr., and Floyd Jr., I could definitely talk to.
But Roger? No.
FH: What are your thoughts on the random Olympic-style drug-testing proposed by the Floyd Mayweather camp for both Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao prior to the fight?
Roach: I have no problem with that whatsoever. Whatever kind of testing they want is no problem. I have trouble giving Manny Pacquiao vitamins. He won't take any protein drinks. No problem at all.
Rice is Manny Pacquiao taking steroids. That's all that he eats in the Philippines.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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