Freddie Roach anxious to get Manny Pacquiao to Los Angeles
by Scott Christ on Oct 21, 2010 1:43 AM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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PrintMaybe it's just talk. Maybe it's just talk to sell a fight. But word out of Manny Pacquiao's camp isn't exactly sparkling right now.
Promoter Bob Arum said recently that if the fight with Antonio Margarito were on Saturday, Margarito would win. Arum believes Pacquiao isn't up to his usual level, or at least so he says. And while Philstar.com's headline is "Roach: No worry, Manny will be ready," there is plenty of worry in Roach's quotes.
The trainer is seemingly worried about the level of sparring that Pacquiao has had thus far against Michael Medina and Glen Tapia, saying Pacquiao is going about "50 percent" in sparring and that his speed isn't there yet. Roach is eager to get to Los Angeles where he will have Amir Khan and Vanes Martirosyan, among others, available to spar Pacquiao.
Road work has also been an issue so far, as Baguio City has been hit by Typhoon Megi, hampering Pacquiao's ability to get crucial work done out of the gym. The team has left Baguio for Manila, and on Saturday will be heading to Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Antonio Margarito is promising that Manny Pacquiao will take a beating, and has strong words for the fighter and his trainer. Margarito and trainer Robert Garcia believe that the uppercut will be key for them, and Margarito feels Pacquiao won't be able to hurt him. It is unlikely that the 154 and 160-pound fighters Margarito is currently sparring are near Pacquiao's level, but confidence is probably a good thing for Margarito at this point, and certainly can't hurt his chances.
Three weeks out of the fight, how are you feeling about the matchup now? And I mean strictly as a fight -- we all know Margarito's baggage and the disappointment over the Mayweather fight still not happening, so no need to re-hash all that. Do you think Margarito's prospects have improved, even though he opened as a 5-to-1 underdog? Is there a real chance that Pacquiao has become, as they say in some parts of the States, "too big for his britches"?
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I wouldn’t say Pacquiao is “too big for his britches” but rather he has reached the limits of his multi tasking. Im still going with Pac but Ive always felt this as a dangerous fight for him. If Marg is even slightly on game and can still take a punch he will be willing to take 2/3 shots of Manny’s to unload one of his and bank on it doing damage
"A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted." - Andrew Bernstein
Ever heard of a
…treadmill? Seems a lame excuse for lack of training or ‘road work’. However I’ll take a 50-75% Manny over the plodder
by Flashpacker on Oct 21, 2010 8:19 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Running on a treadmill is sooo much more easier than roadwork
it’s just putting one foot in front of the other, where’s on a road you have to push yourself forward with each step.
by Sweet science on Oct 22, 2010 7:01 AM EDT up reply actions
This is such a myth....
You’re still covering that distance, whether the road moves under you or you move over it.
I’ll send you a copy of Hawking’s book “A Brief History of Time”, you can read loads about relative locations in space/time and movement and stuff in there…. :)
Most fight fans would not spend a dime to watch Van Gogh paint 'Sunflowers', but they would fill Yankee Stadium to see him cut off his ear. (Bill Nack)
I think Pac and Roach know his footwork is simply too quick for Margarito. Unlike Cotto, Pac will be able to get out of the way of Margarito’s attack (or should be able to, anyway), and he’ll be able to counter Margarito all night. And, again, unlike Margarito’s fight with Cotto, Margarito won’t see the shots coming from Pac, because of Pac’s handspeed and his use of bizarre angles. I don’t know that he’ll stop Margarito, but he should coast to a UD.
The cynic in me says this is just a way of making the fight look interesting because there hasn’t been too much of buzz about this supposed big fight coming up soon. I’d still go with Pac.
Psycho Feint
I was thinking the same thing—create public buzz, and private guard-dropping in AM’s head.
If love would die along with death, this life wouldn't be so hard--Andrew Vachss
if pacman comes out looking like he did against clottey and is as explosive, margarito will be finished in more devastating fashion than he was by mosley. against less crushing hitters, Margarito can win a war of attrition. methinks he’ll just look slow and a full 2 beats slower than even a pacman not on his A game. you can really see that explosive, impact power when pacman’s on his game.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei. Basillio. Harry Greb.
by theworldsoldestsport on Oct 21, 2010 11:34 AM EDT reply actions
I don’t really buy into the whole pacquiao illusion and i pac has started to believe the hype himself he is going to be in trouble.
Pacquiao 'illusion'?
I’d love to see how you elaborate on that.
Most fight fans would not spend a dime to watch Van Gogh paint 'Sunflowers', but they would fill Yankee Stadium to see him cut off his ear. (Bill Nack)
Of course this is just hype. Roach is certainly savvy enough to control the buzz coming out of his camp, and this is the buzz he wants us to hear—playing down expectations to make people think this is competitive. Plus the idea that Pacquiao can’t hurt Marg is ludicrous. If Mosley could do what he did, Pacquaio will do it harder and faster. Who does he think he’s fooling?
I’ve made my feelings known about this fight plenty, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
This very well could be hype, but we used to hear the same things about Tyson--
And then one night he got whupped.
The difference seems to be that while we often hear this stuff about Manny, it’s just never true.
And anyway, is what’s left of Margo able to take a partially prepared Manny?
Tyson didn’t have Roach. Mike wasn’t as teachable in the latter half of his career as Manny is now.
This whole Manny looking less than stellar isn’t new. There were all sorts of reports coming from his camp before the Cotto fight that Shawn Porter was handling him. Amir Khan has been known to get the better of him as well, especially in terms of speed. And yet, Pacman manages to look spectacular come fight time. They may be a little behind schedule for Roach’s liking, but I think they know just how to time things right in order to get Pacquiao to peak on fight night.
What HAS happened, and this is to be expected, is that Manny’s 31 year old body is beginning to buck against the added weight and strength exercises. He’s not a kid anymore, he won’t be recovering the way he used to and he’s packed on just about as much mass as his slight frame can carry. Plus there’s the constant sparring against big, young, guys who are trying to get that 1,000 Gs via KD. In other words, though he is a freakish athletic specimen, we’re seeing Pacquiao’s physical ceiling. I don’t think they can keep pushing him to do this for much longer. Maybe two more fights, tops. Wisely, they’re cutting back on strength and trying to get his speed back. If Manny climbs the ring between 147-149, I don’t think we’ll have problems. Heavier than that and he might be giving away his greatest advantage.
As for Margarito, well, sure, he may look great right now. But if he’s already close to the contracted weight this early, he runs the risk of leaving everything in the gym. “Ripped” doesn’t mean squat. It’s not a beauty contest. Doug Fischer’s take on Antonio’s sparring was that he didn’t look like a “spent bullet.” That’s a far cry from being ready to beat the best p4p fighter in the world. Let’s not forget that there is NOTHING that can prep you for Manny’s style. No one fights like him. Margarito’s style is pretty basic. What he brings to the table is sheer toughness, and pressure. So tactically, Camp Pacquiao can prepare for the somewhat rudimentary style of Antonio, but Camp Margarito cannot prep for the Box-Brawl-Blitz-Blend of Pacquiao.
by Areglado on Oct 21, 2010 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Agreed Areglado--
Good points, and good to see your post again.
by Don From Prov on Oct 21, 2010 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
"to see you posting again"
—Geez, you’d think that I started drinking each mid-afternoon.
by Don From Prov on Oct 21, 2010 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Haha, and it is nice to be posting again. Although, as I’m sure you all know, it’s been a really slow few months in the boxing world. Not a whole lot worth posting about. These doldrums are coming to an end, it looks like.
Some people view Pacquiao-Margarito as a farce. Whatever it is, and however long it goes, I think it will be entertaining. Personally, I don’t see it ending early. Pacquiao can hit, for sure, but at this weight class he’s got to work his butt off to take the beasts down. Margarito will march forward and throw and throw and throw. Manny will explode in and out, side to side and throw and throw and throw. It’ll be a dust up. If Antonio is shot, then we’ll see him take a pounding and ,well, in a really sick way, that’s sort of entertaining I guess. If he’s not spent and has something up his sleeve that we don’t know about, then we’ll get our money’s worth. I can’t wait for the post weigh-in stare down.
GOod news BTW
Katsidis says he’ll still be fighting Marquez
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
i never understood why people were just handing this fight to manny
hes so much smaller and margirito’s chin is the stuff of legends. and you have to wonder how far up can manny go in weight. ive always thought this was a dangerous fight and now if these reports are true this is bad news.
from day one i had hoped this fight didnt happen cuz i dont want it to screw up a potential floyd manny fight even more than it already is.
"After this, I'm gonna kick Bob Arum's ass."
-George Lopez
The way I look at it, there is no potential Floyd-Manny fight except in the minds of boxing fans now anyway. There’s always “well they might talk after THIS fight” but we’ve seen them “negotiate” already. I’m not dying for that again.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Oct 21, 2010 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions
You're Right
Too much water under the bridge
If love would die along with death, this life wouldn't be so hard--Andrew Vachss
in my naive mind
im hoping the money for that fight is too much to walk away from
"After this, I'm gonna kick Bob Arum's ass."
-George Lopez
by Eddie Gonzalez on Oct 23, 2010 4:39 AM EDT up reply actions
More Pac-Clottey than Margo-Cotto
Margo has no chance in hell to hit Pacman with anything substantial in this entire fight. After three rounds of getting countered, his punch output is going to drop and he’s going to go into more of a shell because that’s what happens when you are getting tagged (see every Mayweather fight). Margo does not have a granite chin anymore (cough Mosley cough), also Cotto’s punching power is vastly overrated (didn’t phase Clottey, didn’t phase Pac, slightly phased Margo). To think that a slow lumbering Margo with a ton of ring rust has even the slightest chance against arguably one of the best fighters of a generation is downright insane.
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on Oct 21, 2010 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions
After three rounds of getting countered, his punch output is going to drop and he’s going to go into more of a shell because that’s what happens when you are getting tagged
Funny how that emphatically did NOT happen in the cotto/Margarito fight though, isn’t it?
Most fight fans would not spend a dime to watch Van Gogh paint 'Sunflowers', but they would fill Yankee Stadium to see him cut off his ear. (Bill Nack)
I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this fight.
Luck is beining prepared when opportunity presents itself.
Manny might not be the easy choice everyone thinks. Possible anyway, IMO.
I wouldn’t judge Margarito off the Mosley fight.
But then, most are probably judging off of the facts of speed, skill, etc. :)
Of course, Manny easy UD.
Fast, undersized, odd punch output against good chin defeats slow, plodding punch output against odd target. Next.
I do not like pickles.
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