Freddie Roach is confident he has the answers to help Manny Pacquiao defeat Oscar De La Hoya By GEORGE WILLIS
When Freddie Roach was serving as Oscar De La Hoya’s trainer for his May 2007 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. little did he know the knowledge he gained during their eight-week training camp would be used to benefit Manny Pacquiao.
At the time, a match-up between De La Hoya, who fought Mayweather at 150 pounds, and Pacquiao, who was then fighting at 130 pounds, seemed remote. But now that the two will meet on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Roach will be in Pacquiao’s corner looking to exploit all he learned while tutoring De La Hoya.
“I learned a lot during the eight-week period,” Roach said of his tenure training De La Hoya for what would be a split decision loss to Mayweather, “and now I’m going to use it against him. I know his strengths and I know his weaknesses. We’re going to take advantage of his mistakes.”
Roach worked with De La Hoya for just the Mayweather fight, but he has been Pacquiao’s trainer since the Pilipino sensation burst on the boxing scene several years ago. There’s no mistaking where his loyalty lies. His familiarity with De La Hoya was one of the reasons he pushed Pacquiao to agree to fight the Golden Boy. Although most view the smaller Pacquiao as a clear underdog in the pay-per-view bout, Roach is confident of victory.
“I’m confident and Manny’s very confident,” Roach said during a press conference Wednesday at the base of the Statue of Liberty. “I wanted this fight very badly. Not for the money but for what it does for Manny’s career. And what it does is turns him into a superstar.”
Roach wouldn’t divulge what weaknesses he sees in De La Hoya, but drew the Golden Boy’s ire by suggesting he “couldn’t pull the trigger” anymore. It was one reason De La Hoya pursued the bout.
“I felt challenged,” De La Hoya said. “Obviously, he knows my style and he knows Manny’s. And for him to say that was a big challenge. If he thinks that I can’t pull the trigger, well, we’ll see Dec. 6.”
De La Hoya will be trained by Nacho Beristain, his third trainer in as many fights. Beristain, who has trained 16 world champions, doesn’t figure to change De La Hoya’s style much, but will try to simply sharpen his skills. The game plan figures to keep Pacquiao on the end of his jab and hurt him with his left hook.
*
Kimbo Slice takes on mixed martial arts veteran Ken Shamrock tomorrow night in the main event of an EliteXC card that will be televised on CBS. It’s the third installment of the primetime series. Slice is looking to improve to 4-0, while Shamrock is looking for his first win in his last six fights. Also on the card, 170-pound champion Jake Shield defends his title against Paul Daley, heavyweight Andrei Arlovski meets Roy “Big Country” Nelson, and Gina Carano takes on Kelly Kobold in a women’s bout.
Broadway Boxing returns on Oct. 22 at BB Kings on Times Square with Edgar Santana of Spanish Harlem facing Mexico’s Luis Rodriguez in the main event. It will be Santana’s first bout since legal issues canceled his last bout. Randall Bailey and Gary Stark Jr. are also scheduled to appear. For tickets call 212-947-2577 or visit http://www.dbe1.com.
HBO’s Boxing After Dark will feature a boxing triple-header tomorrow night when 2004 Olympic Gold Medal winner Yuriorkis Gamboa (11-0, 9 KOs) faces Marcos Ramirez (25-0, 16 KOs), Afredo Angulo (13-0, 10 KOs) challenges Andrey Tsurkan (26-3, 17 KOs) and Sergio Martinez (43-1, 23 KOs) duels Alex Bunema (30-5-2, 16 KOs).
End.