By Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani), Eastside Boxing
This week’s 114th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who is currently preparing the Pound-for-Pound King Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) for a May 2 showdown against ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs). Roach spoke about that upcoming fight, and also talked about several other fighters he is working with including Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quilling and Vanes Martirosyan. Here is a what Freddie had to say:
On how he feels about Manny Pacquiao’s upcoming matchup against Sugar Shane Mosley:
“We’re getting ready for the fight. We got to expect Shane to be at his best and we’ll get ready for him, that’s for sure. But we won’t underestimate him.”
On whether he is at all concerned that Pacquiao could be taking Mosley lightly given the fact most observers expect Pacquiao to win:
“No, Manny’s not that type of person. He won’t underestimate anybody. If he was going to fight you he would train hard so we don’t have that problem.”
On what he expects from Mosley considering his lopsided loss to Floyd Mayweather and his draw with Sergio Mora:
“I think he’ll get up for this fight. It’s really hard to get up for Sergio Mora but it’s easy to get up for Manny Pacquiao. A win over Pacquiao will change his life. It would make everything bad that happened in his life go away. So he has nothing to lose in this fight and I expect the beginning of the fight to be crucial because he’s very strong and he’s a great puncher.”
On whether he views this as a high risk/low reward risky fight with Mosley:
“Well Shane’s always came through. The thing is with Mayweather there is no shame in losing to him. He’s probably one of the best fighters in the world. He’s a good boxer and he made some adjustments and nullified Shane’s advantage. With Mora, he’s kind of a runner and he’s a hard guy to fight. Manny Pacquiao is a guy that’s going to fight you, so it’s all about styles. It looks like a good fight to me but the thing is I think the first four rounds are crucial and it’s something we really have to be ready for is a quick start from Shane.”
His views on the fact Pacquiao was hit more often against Antonio Margarito than we are accustomed to seeing:
“Well he’s a bigger and stronger guy. He was a guy who could impose his will on Manny and I don’t think he got hit any more than he did in other fights. He got hit with a couple of body shots that hurt him by a big strong guy, but overall Manny Pacquiao’s defense has been getting a little bit better but it’s not his strongest suit. It never has been because when you go for it you become more susceptible to be hit back, and Manny Pacquiao goes for it.”
On whether he feels Manny Pacquiao will be more comfortable returning to the welterweight limit of 147 pounds:
“You know, going into the ring for the Margarito fight he weighed 147 and he’ll weigh 147 going into the ring for this fight. That’s his best fighting weight. It’s his ideal fighting weight. For his last six fights he’s weighed the same so it’s perfect for Manny.”
His views on Amir Khan’s upcoming title defense against Paul McCloskey:
“Well McCloskey is an awkward southpaw. He’s unorthodox and he’s undefeated of course, but I think Amir should be too much for him and he’s really never fought that caliber before. I think Amir should overwhelm him.”
On how he feels about a rumored unification match between Khan and Timothy Bradley sometime this summer:
“Well you know it looks good on paper but the thing is will it happen. Who knows? With different promoters, hopefully that fight comes. I actually think they need to build that fight up a little bit. I think maybe they need more exposure so I don’t know why you would rush into that fight.”
On how important his boxing career was for paving the way to becoming a world class trainer:
“It’s helped me a lot of course, and my mentor Eddie Futch helped me a lot. I worked as Eddie’s assistant for five years and he taught me some of the finer points of the game.”
On whether he is at all concerned that Mosley represents the fastest big man Pacquiao has ever faced:
“Well speed and power go together and he has one-punch knockout power. We just can’t take him lightly and think we’re going to walk right through him because that’s not going to happen. Shane’s again, an experienced fighter and he’ll get up for this fight. If we didn’t expect Shane to be at his best we’d be fools.”
On whether he hopes that Pacquiao is more apt to box against Mosley given the fact people who box and move like Mayweather and Mora had given Mosley so many problems:
“Yeah, well that’s part of our game plan to box more and work on the head movement more. You know Shane has a really good right hand and if Manny gets hit by anything it’s usually the right hand. I think we got our work cut out for us, but we’ll get it done.”
On his experiences working with Julio Cesar Chavez Junior:
“Well Chavez is great when he’s in the gym and he gives me 100%. He has a great work ethic but you know what? You can’t be sharp by fighting every fourteen months. There is no way you can fight once a year and be sharp. So I think he needs more activity to show his true skills because he does understand the art of boxing, and he’s very knowledgeable, and he’s trying to get better. I don’t think he’ll ever be his Dad but that’s a tall order. He’s a good kid and he works hard when he’s with me, but you can’t have layoffs of fourteen months in between fights and expect to look sharp.”
On some of the other fighters he is currently working with who are not under the big spotlight like Pacquiao and Khan:
“Well you know I got Vanes Martirosyan getting ready for a fight. Vanes is looking for a title shot this year. I got Jamie Kavanagh who just won his fifth pro fight. I got Lateef Kayode who just won his sixteenth fight now with fourteen knockouts. He’s a good cruiserweight prospect. ‘Kid Chocolate’ is coming along well. He’s won and had two knockouts since he’s been out here with me in LA. I got Rashad Holloway. I am trying to get him back on track after he lost his last fight. Overall I have a big stable and everyone is doing well. It just keeps me busy and if I can make something better I will. I just finished training Georges St. Pierre on Sunday and he’s getting better and better all of the time and his hands have really improved. Again, I love what I do.”
His views on the fact that Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin is making better use of his jab and throwing better combinations more frequently:
“You know because he has that big right hand he was always looking for that right hand. So we’re just working on setting it up better with the jab and the hook, and he’s starting to understand that better. He’s getting great sparring here with my new fighters. Him and Danny Jacobs go at it pretty good. I got Jacobs fighting on the 5th of March, on my birthday actually. So Danny Jacobs is part of my crew also. So it’s great middleweight sparring. Craig McEwan is getting ready to fight Andy Lee in a big, big fight. They have a history. Andy Lee beat him in the amateurs, but I think Craig can come on in the pros enough to beat him this time but it’s not an easy fight by any means.”
His views on the fight between Saul Alvarez and Matthew Hatton being for the vacant WBC 154 pound title:
“You know I’m really surprised they made that a title shot. I mean the caliber of fighters that they’ve faced is not world class and I’m very, very shocked that they made that a title fight. I think it’s embarrassing to boxing because he hasn’t proven himself, Hatton. His brother has. We know who he is. They’re just giving Saul Alvarez a title. Hopefully he’ll defend it against Vanes Martirosyan and Vanes will destroy him!”
His views on the return of James Kirkland:
“Well you know it’s hard to say after having a long layoff. It’s his first fight back. We can’t expect too much out of the kid, but he’s a very talented guy and he seems like a hard worker and Kirkland can punch, so he’s dangerous.”
His views on Amir Khan’s recent split with strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza:
“With Amir, Amir felt that he wanted to move on so he’s working with one of my assistant coaches who’s been here in the gym for about a year now and he’s doing a good job. Alex I paid. I paid him for the last fight just like I always do for every fight, and Amir just tried to move on with a new coach.”
On how much longer he expects Pacquiao to continue boxing:
“Well, with his work ethic he could go on for a couple of more years if he wanted to. It would be up to him. He hasn’t lost that desire to train hard. He actually works harder now than he ever did, so he can go on for a couple of more years as long as he keeps that work ethic going. I do feel that politics will eventually pull him away from boxing some day, but when I’m not sure.”
On how he expects the match between Pacquiao and Mosley to play out:
“Well you know I’m not a fortune teller of course, but I will have my guy ready and we’ll have a great game plan. I’ve been studying Mosley tapes. I know Shane very well. Again, the way watch the tapes we go over his best fights and his worst fights and we’ll come up with a perfect game plan and we’ll take care of business.”
On what he expects from boxing in the year 2011:
“It sounds like a good year. The thing is we need the best fighting the best and we need guys like Mayweather to sign contracts and not talk so much and get in the ring and fight. So I think it should be a good year and I do feel that fight will happen sometime this year. I’m a fan just like everyone else in the world and I would love to see that fight as a fan and as a trainer.”
Source: eastsideboxing.com
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