Roach all smiles as Pacquiao ends training camp in Baguio -- GMA News

GMANews.TV

Trainer Freddie Roach is going down from the Baguio City highlands wearing a big smile on his face after seeing how Manny Pacquiao ended their training camp.

The Filipino boxing sensation saved his best for last and showed everyone his old fiery form during the final day of sparring shortly before his training in the country’s summer capital ended on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao engaged reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) light-welterweight title holder Amir Khan, Michael Medina and Glen Tapia in 11 hard rounds of sparring.

All three world-class boxers were rocked by the Filipino southpaw, who's slowly but surely regaining the speed and quickness that have defined his career as one of the greatest boxers.

Khan and Tapia, who suffered a bloody nose after going for a few rounds with Pacquiao in Tuesday’s training, sparred with the world's top pound-for-pound fighter for four rounds each, while Medina went three.

Roach, who was earlier disappointed at the way the four-week Baguio training camp had gone, was obviously satisfied with the way the final day concluded.

"Best training day for him," said Roach after the closed-door sparring session.

Nonoy Neri, one of Roach's Filipino assistants along with Buboy Fernandez, shared the iconic 50-year-old trainer's view.

"Sobrang bilis ni Manny," said Neri. "At tsaka may timing na."

In all, Pacquiao has already sparred 57 rounds in Manila and Baguio.

Paquiao is scheduled for morning roadwork at the Rizal Memorial track oval on Friday. Later in the afternoon, it's off to the Elorde boxing gym in Quezon City, where he conducts his final workout and sparring (Saturday) before leaving for Los Angeles Saturday evening.

Pacquiao is seeking a record eighth world title against Mexican banger Antonio Margarito in a 12-round bout for the World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight crown.

The $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas serves as the site of the title match. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV

Source: gmanews.tv

Arum: Pacquiao is 'lagging behind' with Margarito near -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

Bob Arum went to the Philippines this week to watch his prized boxer, Manny Pacquiao, train for his Nov. 13 light middleweight title fight with Antonio Margarito in Dallas.

What the 79-year-old Hall of Fame promoter found was a typhoon ravaging the island country and a distracted fighter who was "lagging behind" in his training schedule for a fight a little more than three weeks away. Neither scenario left him feeling particularly good.

"There are so many distractions here in the Philippines that, while (trainer) Freddie (Roach) believes he will be OK once we get him to Los Angeles, his preparation — for Manny — leaves something to be desired," Arum said. "When he hits the mitts, he demonstrates his quickness. But when he's sparring, whether it's because he's adjusting to bigger guys, taller guys, or whether he really hasn't got the conditioning to fight at full speed the way he always does, I'm not sure."

Arum said Roach didn't seem to be worried about Pacquiao's progress. And Typhoon Megi, which killed at least 13 people and destroyed thousands of homes, mostly skirted Baguio City, where Pacquiao trains.

"Freddie believes that when he gets to the United States, that speed element will come," Arum said. "And I must say when he sparred on Saturday, while most of the time he didn't demonstrate that quickness ... there were times when he sparred within the round — it wasn't sustained — when he just unleashed dozens of punches that the partners couldn't answer."

Whenever Pacquiao trains in Baguio or Manila, where he will work out today and Friday before jetting to Los Angeles to finish his training at Roach's Wild Card Gym, the popular figure and congressman in his home country gets pulled in several directions.

"Last night, somebody got it into their heads that the country club would provide a big party for the HBO people (filming 24/7, which premiers Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET), the sparring partners, for all of us. And somebody committed Manny to go," Arum says. "The weather was horrid. I said, 'Don't bring him out in that kind of weather.' But they brought him to this party at 10 at night."

Margarito, training in California, will be anything but a pushover, said Arum, who also promotes the disgraced Mexican.

Margarito was suspended in the USA for a year after being caught with illegal hand wraps during his fight with Shane Mosley nearly two years ago and has fought once since then, a 10-round decision against Roberto Garcia in Mexico in May.

"He is absolutely convinced that he's going to beat Manny," Arum said. "He's a warrior and has super confidence in himself, but he really believes he's too strong, too tough for Pacquiao."

Margarito is so confident he made an all-or-nothing deal with the clothing company Affliction. Margarito, who has had a long association with Affliction, proposed that if he beats Pacquiao, he'd be paid a five-figure fee. If he loses, he gets nothing.

"I have full confidence that I am going to beat Manny Pacquiao, and this deal with Affliction reinforces that confidence," said Margarito, a three-time world champ. "I appreciate that they are willing to continue to support me for this fight. I will be taking their money home, too."

Tom Atencio, Affliction's chief of sports marketing, said he had no problem giving Margarito another chance. "There's only two people who know what happened. The guy that wrapped his hands and him," he said. "Who am I, who is anybody to judge?

"I don't think it's a bad thing to give somebody a second chance. At the end of the day, if he wins, he's going to be a hero again."

Arum thinks Pacquiao will be challenged.

"The only way he beats Margarito is to out-speed him and attack Margarito with both hands," Arum said. "(But) I think Margarito is the kind of fighter that has trouble handling speed."

Source: usatoday.com

Pacquiao Ends Training with Furious Firepower -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao capped his last day of training in Baguio on Thursday with a dazzling display of firepower in sparring, logging 11 furious rounds with Amir Khan of England, Glen Tapia of the Dominican Republic, and Michael Medina of Mexico.

After the workout, Pacquiao was scheduled to motor down to Manila as he prepares to leave for the US on Saturday night, three weeks before he collides with Mexican Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

While in Manila, Pacquiao will do his morning roadwork at the Rizal Memorial Track Oval on Friday and Saturday.

Afternoon workouts will take place at the Elorde Gym in Quezon City.

Team Pacquiao will take a Philippine Airlines flight to Los Angeles on Saturday.

Joining Pacquiao are trainer Freddie Roach, conditioning coach Alex Ariza, training assistants Buboy and Roger Fernandez and Nonoy Neri and the sparmates.

Pacquiao will have his first day of training at the Wild Card this Monday, something Roach is looking forward to.

Pacquiao will stay in Hollywood for two weeks before proceeding to Dallas on Nov. 8.

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is getting a 12-seater private plane to accommodate Pacquiao and select members of his entourage.

Meanwhile, Margarito and his handlers will arrive in Dallas on Nov. 7.

Source: mb.com.ph

Manny Pacquiao Vs Antonio Margarito: Is it Wrong for Boxing? -- Ringside Report

By Damien Norman, Ringside Report

Manny Pacquiao will look to continue in dominant fashion when he takes on suspended Antonio Margarito on November 13th for the vacant WBC Light Middleweight Title.

For a long time we have been waiting to see Pacquiao against Mayweather JR., but similar to the David Haye- Klitschko situation, it has never materialized and now he takes on Antonio Margarito, a man who is still serving a US suspension for altered hand wraps in his bout against Shane Mosley.

Due to Margarito still not having his license back to fight in the states the location of this fight has yet to be confirmed but it is looking like it will be held in Mexico if nothing has changed and the United States is out of the question.

So, this fight is going ahead, but is this right for boxing? What sort of statement does this make about the current state of top, world level boxing right now?

When you look at the Welterweight division it doesn’t take much digging to find top names… top names that are arguably much more deserving of a shot at this title than Antonio Margarito. Two names that instantly spring to mind are Timothy Bradley and Andre Berto, but there are many more that would seem a more worthy opposition than a fighter who for starters is still currently US banned but more importantly when he last fought at this level was seriously schooled.

Pacquiao must be going into this fight feeling very confident and if he should come through as the victor it will be his eighth title in eight divisions which is a remarkable statistic, and although not all of those title victories have been against world class operators you can only beat the man in front of you, right?

We see many boxers who are rated highly notch up very quick professional unbeaten records and a lot of the opponents they face are poor journeyman. This is pretty much how boxing works, and to be fair this is understandable and when you are starting out you can expect opponents similar to this but with each fight you should always better yourself as should you always compete against worthy contenders after winning a title and when this doesn’t happen is the time when people start asking questions.

Sometimes a bad loss or an opponent pulling out can mean a lesser opponent stepping in but when it comes to a situation like this, where you see the Filipino star Manny Pacquiao taking on an opponent who isn’t really deserving of the opportunity you have to seriously raise your eyebrow and question why this happens.

When people pay extremely good money to travel to these fights and watch boxing they expect to see a real challenge and the same can be said for the people that pay to watch it from home on pay per view too. Obviously both fighters have there loyal fans who will come to support them regardless, but I wonder how many Pacquiao fans are left feeling disappointed over the opponent he faces on November 13th?.

One thing that people will be asking is should Pacquiao personally take responsibility for this? Granted, he does not control the business behind the scenes and his job is to do the magic inside the ring but let’s not forget that it is his name on the line and whatever his people do, it is under his name. This is unfortunately the state of current world level boxing and we are seeing this regularly.

We all love a champion and when you get somebody as down to earth and gifted as Pacquiao you can but admire him, but putting all of that aside we still want to see that fighter challenged to the maximum and prove they are the best by taking on opponents who are standing on his toes in terms of ability and finesse. With all this said there are certainly worse opponents than Antonio Margarito who comes into this fight with a record of 38-6 and only one of those losses by KO which happened to be the controversial bout against Shane Mosley. His only fight since that night was a win against Roberto Garcia in May.

You would hope that Margarito would prove a stiff challenge for Pacquiao and would give him a real run for his money but in reality I can only see one winner.

Unfortunately with boxing the way it currently is, proposing a Pacquiao victory he would be seen as the dominant, untouchable fighter in the division without actually fighting a couple of opponents who could potentially defeat him, none more so than Floyd Mayweather JR., a fighter that has an immaculate record of 41 wins and no defeats.

He is seen by many people as the best fighter in the division and until Pacquiao finally faces him can never really call himself “the best.” It is a fight that has much controversy surrounding it, in fact it even got personal with Mayweather taking it one step further with racial remarks.

With the continuance of the sport going in the same direction you can’t help but feel it won’t be long until something is done about it and some dramatic changes will be implemented in order to change how people currently feel about boxing as a whole.

With some massive fights coming up between now and Christmas there is lots to be excited about as a boxing fan and with the New Year you would hope to see some firm changes.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Pacquiao vs. Margarito: Speed and Technique vs. Physical Size and Pressure -- Eastside Boxing

By Paul Strauss, Eastside Boxing

First of all, don't you wonder, at least a little bit, why Manny "Pac Man" Pacquiao and Freddie Roach agreed to this fight in the first place? The fight is scheduled for November 13th, 2010 at Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX? Potentially, it's a dangerous fight, and one with little ground to be gained by Manny. Who really gives a hoohah about another meaningless belt or title anyway? If Manny beats Antonio "The Express Train" Margarito, as most believe he will, what will it prove? Certainly there will be those gushing over the fact that Margarito was Manny's biggest opponent to date, and how tough Tony had been over the course of his career. But, you know the post fight glory will quickly tarnish with comments that the Pac Man beat a post-Mosley Margarito, and not the real Tijuana Tornado terror that demolished Cintron and Cotto and appeared unbeatable. It seems that Manny, Freddie and Bob Arum are once again determined to stick it to Mayweather by saying, "We're moving on." This time it's another big live crowd and a lot of $55 PPV's. They already demonstrated they can do it with the Clottey fight. It too was a potentially dangerous one, but was made relatively harmless for Manny when Clottey failed to live up to his biblical namesake Joshua who succeeded Moses and conquered Canaan For Manny it was a frustratingly tough fight, and for fans it was a boring fight. More importantly, what did it prove?

For Margarito this fight is a chance for redemption. At least that's what he believes, because he sees a victory over the P4P best will prove to fans that he is a great fighter and a clean fighter. However, there's no chance an upset win on his part will change the public's preception of him as a cheater. No matter how hard he tries to deny any knowledge of wrongdoing, it's just not going to wash. However, a victory over the Pac Man will thrust him back into the limelight, and place him in a position for another huge payday. Several possibilities suggest themselves such as a rematch with Cotto; although, Cotto should stick to his guns and says no thanks. What about a big rematch with Williams, or Martinez if Sergio beats the Punisher?. Maybe both guys if their rematch is another great close fight. There's plenty of other guys too, like Berto, Angulo, and Kirkland. Of course, there's even the possibility of a fight with the elusive one - Mayweather. If Floyd doesn't have to flee from legal problems, then he will be drooling over that one, because in his view he could make Margarito look foolish, and take care of the conquerer of Pac Man all in one night.

Before jumping ahead too far, it's wise to look at some of the numerous questions leading into this fight. For example, has the Tornado dissipated? Freddie Roach seems to think so. Freddie boldly predicts a knockout within eight rounds, to which Antonio chuckles and asks, "What makes you think so? Do you think I'm crippled or something?" Freddie simply responds by saying, "I've seen your last two fights!" Ouch! Well, the Tijuana Tornado didn't seem to be so intimidating after that comment, but of course he wasn't wearing gloves.

Antonio and his camp seem supremely confident in the fact that Antonio is so much bigger, and is able to take the punches of hard hitting junior middleweights and middleweights. They feel his granite chin and intimating style will be the difference. After all, Margarito is 5' 11" with a 73" reach, as opposed to Manny, who is maybe 5' 6" with a 67" reach. Tony will also enjoy at least a ten to fifteen pound weight advantage, which means more when you equate it to the natural skeletal structure. Manny's weight will have been achieved by force feeding himself about 7000 calories per day just to maintain a weight of about 148lbs. After rehydrating, Tony will most likely weigh closer to a natural 165 lbs by the opening bell.

But, the experts and fans aren't convinced. They've seen what the little Pac Man can do to bigger men. Some also point out that Tony is currently undergoing a lot of physical stress and strain trying to get and keep his weight down, and will lose strength and stamina because of it. They further believe it's something he won't be able to regain in one day by simply rehydrating. Whereas, Manny is undergoing a carefully structured and controlled diet that is providing necessary fuel and healthful benefits to his expertly conditioned body. Critics of Manny point out that when Juan Manuel Marquez was preparing for his fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., he thought the same thing.

More importantly, experts and fans seriously question whether Antonio might be making a big mental mistake. In fact, some contend that he might be playing right into Manny's hands by going into the fight with the simple goal of trying to prove how tough he is and throwing caution to the wind. Antonio's camp is so confident that they claim to not even have bothered to formulate any kind of game plan, other than the most basic. They feel Tony will be able to use his jab and force Manny backwards and up against the ropes, which will enable Tony to unleash his hooks and uppercuts. They saw Clottey land a few effective shots, and take solace in the hope that a tough, aggressive fighter like Tony will be able to do much more damage. They claim to understand that Tony knows he will get clipped with some sharp right hooks and straight lefts from Manny, but they feel Tony will be able to weather them and wear down the Pacman and then knock him out. They express little concern about Pacman's speed or technique. They also place little or no importance in reports about Manny injured his heel, or rumors that he's not training hard. They choose to dismiss such claims, and feel Manny will present himself in tip top shape on fight night. They also imply it will make no difference!

Manny and Freddie, on the other hand, feel Tony will be playing right into their hands. They saw how effective Mosley was in taking away Tony's aggression by turning it against him. First, "Sugar" Shane Mosley had Tony running right into his hard jab, which often was thrust straight and hard into the pit of Tony's stomach, not the head. That in itself slowed up Tony. Shane continued to frustrate him by beating him to the punch with right hands to the body, which kept Tony's left occupied with defense, as opposed to his usual method of throwing hooks to the body. Another point Manny and Freddie picked up on was Mosley's decision to move inside, instead of out like Cotto. By doing so, Mosley avoided being trapped against the ropes and he either smothered or momentarily tied up Tony, keeping him from letting go with those body shots and uppercuts. They also feel that Tony has never fought anyone with Manny's kind of speed and movement. They know Tony will attempt to keep Manny from moving to his right by first throwing right hands up top, and then sliding to his left to corral the smaller man. But by doing so, Tony can expect to be eating some hard straight left hands that will find him leaning in and to his left. Then Manny will be able to move to his right anyway, and make use of his right hooks to the head and body. Freddie and Manny believe that soon Tony will think he's being attacked by a pack of wolves, ripping first here, and then there, with a continual increase in pain. They envision the express train will break down, and the fighter formerly known as a tornado will be gasping for air. In their eyes, his lengthy frame and long arms will be reaching out in desperation like a wounded animal. Then, the way they they foretell it, the end will be near.

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Pacquiao wants more speed and power -- ABS-CBN News

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao’s sparring partners have noticed improvements in his overall performance. The Filipino champ, however, wants to improve further.

During Tuesday’s sparring session at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City, Pacquiao showed his training partners that indeed he can handle taller fighters.

“It was good, man. Everybody was talking about it and when he comes out in a fight, he’s gonna be good,” said American Glen Tapia, one of Pacquiao’s sparring mates.

Testament to Tapia's statement was the busted lip he got from Pacquiao, who is set to trade punches with Antonio “Tijuana Tornado” Margarito of Mexico on November 13.

Even World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan, who also sparred with Pacquiao, believes the Filipino champ has the right tools to dismantle the 5’11” Margarito.

“The angles… he hits from angles, you know, his speed, his technique and having [coach] Freddie Roach in the corner is a big help,” said Khan.

The Filipino’s esteemed trainer also attested to Pacquiao’s improvement.

“Manny Pacquiao is coming back,” said Roach.

Pacquiao, the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion, has worked on regaining his speed after becoming sluggish with the added weight.

The 7-division champion has cut his weight down to 148 pounds and is again becoming the same boxing terror of the past. The Filipino boxer reportedly went above 150 pounds before deciding to shed the added weight.

Pacquiao said he plans to make more improvements as his fight date with the Mexican champ approaches.

He also denied reports that he has lost focus in training due to commitments outside boxing.

“Sa focus nandiyan tayo sa focus. Pero ang tina-target ko talaga, konti na lang, konti na lang… ‘yong sinasabi kong more speed and power (When it comes to focus, I’ve always been focused. But now my targets are, and I’m getting very near them, is getting more speed and power),” said Pacquiao. – With a report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

This time, Arum heaps praises on Pacquiao -- GMA News

GMANews.TV

A letdown the last time, Manny Pacquiao made sure he would leave a lasting impression on Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.

The world’s top pound-for-pound fighter rocked all three sparmates he faced late Tuesday, with Glen Tapia nursing a bloodied nose after the action-packed rounds that wowed a small audience at the Shape Up gym inside the Cooyesan Hotel in Baguio.

Among those who witnessed Pacquiao's return to championship form was Arum himself.

Arum was watching at ringside when the 31-year-old Pacquiao relentlessly attacked and bombed Tapia, Medina and Amir Khan, the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) light-welterweight champion, at an extended sparring session that started what trainer Freddie Roach earlier referred to as the "toughest two weeks" of training for the Filipino’s Nov. 13 title fight with Mexican Antonio Margarito.

“He had a bloody nose," said Filipino assistant trainer Nonoy Neri, referring to Tapia.

Khan, who sparred with Pacquiao for the first time since arriving in the country’s Summer Capital, went four rounds with the Pacman, while Medina and Tapia had three each.

Pacquiao’s staggering performance came a day after Arum, chairman of Top Rank Promotions, said during Monday’s open workout for members of the media that he was convinced the Filipino’s current condition would not be enough for him to beat the 32-year-old Margarito in their 12-round showdown at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Arum had the privilege of watching Pacquiao spar in training camp upon his arrival in the country Saturday, and was blunt enough to say that he didn’t like what he saw.

“If the fight happened on Saturday, Margarito would win the fight," Arum said before a stunned audience.

But the next time he was back at ringside, he obviously savored the experience.

The 78-year-old veteran promoter already left the gym by the time the seven-time world champion began to take it easy on Medina, but not after witnessing how Pacquiao threw left and right bombs at both Khan and Tapia.

Arum had stressed that Pacquiao has to be in real tough shape for him to get past the 5-foot-11 Margarito, a two-time world champion.

“You have to be in tough physical and mental shape. You have to be, or else, you’re not gonna beat him (Margarito)," said Arum, who’s set to return to the U.S. today.

“So Manny knows that. I mean, Manny knows more about boxing than I do, because you know he knows what it takes to be in the kind of shape that he has to be in to win the fight."

Deciding to defer his return to Manila for another day in the aftermath of the destruction wrought by typhoon Juan in the northern part of the country, Pacquiao is expected to return to Manila by late Thursday night, shortly after sparring for the last time in his Baguio training camp.

He and Roach will then resume training at the Elorde gym in Quezon City over the weekend, before flying to Los Angeles late Saturday evening. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV

Source: gmanews.tv

Top three pound-for-pound fighters -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

1. MANNY PACQUIAO
Welterweight titlist
Record: 51-3-2, 38 KOs
Age: 31

Hits: If Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't fight Pacquiao, so be it. The PacMan was ready, willing and able to meet him Nov. 13, with full drug testing in the lead-up to the fight. But Mayweather decided he wanted no part of it -- and wound up in legal trouble anyway. So Pacquiao will carry on with his career, gunning for a title in a record-extending eighth weight division.

Misses: Unfortunately, Pacquiao is facing Antonio Margarito, an opponent who isn't worthy of sharing the same ring with Pacquiao -- based not only on Margarito's hand-wrap scandal and suspension but also on his most recent ring results, a brutal knockout loss to Shane Mosley two fights ago and a sloppy win against a journeyman in May.

2. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
Welterweight
Record: 41-0, 25 KOs
Age: 33

Hits: He has a perfect record, titles in five classes, a spot on the pound-for-pound list and an eventual spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. And he has been one of the very best in recent boxing history, even if he didn't always fight the opponents the public and press wanted to see him tangle with most. But you can't argue with the results.

Misses: Instead of making tens of millions of dollars by taking on Pacquiao in the fight the world wants to see, Mayweather decided to take "a vacation." Ultimately, with so much time on his hands, Mayweather got himself in all kinds of trouble: a vile, racist and homophobic video rant he went on against Pacquiao, plus the eight charges filed against him by Las Vegas authorities stemming from an alleged domestic incident involving the mother of his children. What a shame that Mayweather will end this year having fought only four times since 2007.

3. PAUL WILLIAMS
Middleweight
Record: 39-1, 27 KOs
Age: 29

Hits: In a year with so few really big fights to get excited about, Williams and Sergio Martinez will fight in one of the biggest on Nov. 20 when Williams challenges for the middleweight title. He and Martinez waged a truly sensational nontitle battle last December, which Williams won via a heavily disputed majority decision. The rematch ought to be another tremendous battle, one that all boxing fans should be looking forward to.

Misses: Although Williams got the technical-decision win against Kermit Cintron in May, it looked like he was in for a very rough night before the bout was short-circuited in the fourth round when Cintron fell out of the ring and the fight was stopped. We'll always wonder what would have been if the fight had continued.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Boxing blasphemy: Mendoza brands Coach Freddie Roach as overrated -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Brace yourself for what can only be a bit of boxing blasphemy.

But highly accomplished Mexican boxing agent Rafael Mendoza, known to some as "Il Padrino" and to others as "Cobra," refuses to bow at the crowded with supplicants altar of Manny Pacquiao trainer Coach Freddie Roach.

Mendoza, long associated with dean of Mexico's trainers Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, doesn't say that the 50 year old Roach--winner of the Boxing Writers Trainer of the Year Aaward in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009 and a likely candidate for the honor this year--is not competent.

But Mendoza, a 73 year old resident of Guadalajara, does opine that because of Pacman's iconic rise, Roach has become overrated.

"No mistake," Mendoza said by telephone from his posh pad, "Roach is a good, competent trainer. But Roach is now on an ego trip. He's a good trainer, a standard trainer, nothing more than that.

"Look at Pacquiao, he's no technical wizard in the ring. If Roach is so great, how come he worked with (former light heavyweight champion) Virgil Hill for five years and Hill never became any kind of big star?

"Pacquiao, he's got an awkward, difficult to defend style. Pound for pound, he is the toughest guy anyone can fight. He's fast, he's an awkward southpaw. He can beat you with his legs. He reminds me a bit of Muhammad Ali who also did things wrong technically but got away with it so long. Pacquiao is not that fast, you can see his mistakes but it's difficult to capitalize on them."

I asked Mendoza how disgraced Antonio Margarito trainer Javier Capetillo, now barred in America due to his California suspension for attempting to illegally load handwraps, can be allowed to continue to ply his trade south of the border.

"Mexico and Mexicans, they don't care about what California says," Mendoza said. "You've got 50 percent of the public thinking Capetillo and Margarito were cheating and 50 percent who don't think it. That's good for PPV TV sales for the Nov. 13 fight between Manny and Margarito. But we have no reciprocation with California."

Mendoza does not hold Capetillo in any high regard.

"He's just a poor guy who went to the U.S. and he was selling tamales in the street and cleaning out spit buckets in a boxing gym. He had no food, no money, no nothing. He couldn't go to the movies or anything else so he went to the gym where you can go with no money and he became a trainer, Mendoza said.

Mendoza, whose last major boxing job was a personal adviser to Oscar de la Hoya, has handled 22 world champions including slugger Pipino Cuevas and master boxer Miguel Canto.

Many years ago, he was a boxing writer based in New York City.

He's worked closely with Golden Boy, with Bob Arum and with other major promoters over the years.

He was chief adviser to rising Mexican welterweight star Saul "Canela" Alvarez but said he walked away from that relationship because the fighter was not toeing the line.

In case you didn't get his subtlety, Mendoza bites his tongue for nobody.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com