Freddie Roach: "I think (Brandon) Rios is the more compelling fighter. He's really, really action-packed. He's an aggressive young kid. He talks a lot of smack. He sells some tickets, I think. Robert Guerrero's a good friend of mine. He's helped me out. He defended me when Amir Khan said crazy stuff about me. I thank him for that."
Marcos Villegas, Fight Hub TV: "He actually told that to us."
Roach: "Thank you for sticking up for me. He knows the truth. But Rios, some people think that I don't like him and so forth. At his last fight, I sat beside his wife and I asked her if she was a little nervous, I asked her if she was OK. She goes, 'I know you don't like my husband.' I said, 'No, I don't dislike your husband.' I told her, 'I actually think he's gonna win tonight and I'm on his side.' After the fight, he came and sat with us and we took a picture together and he put it on Twitter. He's a young kid who's gonna open his mouth, he's gonna sell some tickets, he's gonna bring a good fight for about five or six rounds--"
Fight Hub TV: "That's the point, too, a lot of people bring up. They say it'll be exciting for as long as it lasts, but they want to see Manny in there with someone that will take him the distance, that will be competitive. They say Rios won't be competitive. People say this."
Roach: "I think it's a very competitive fight. I'm a little bit worried about that fight, because it's the young versus the old. In with the new and out with the old, you know. I don't think we're quite there yet, so I do think that we'll take him out in the late rounds. But the Garcia camp, they think the exact opposite, of course. They've got the new star that's going to be able to stand in there with Manny Pacquiao. I think it's a great fight. The thing is, you know, 'The Ghost,' again, he's been a good friend. They've sparred a lot together. He's a very nice kid."
Fight Hub TV: "I would think 'The Ghost' would probably present a little more problem because of that, as well."
Roach: "He might, because he has the experience of being in there with many. Him and Victor Ortiz is another one. Victor Ortiz came in here -- Manny and Victor Ortiz probably had the best sparring sessions that you ever saw in these rings. It was unbelievable back then, back and forth. I'm friends with him also. But the thing is, I'd rather fight competitors like Brandon Rios, and let him mouth off a little bit, and then shut him up."