Manny Pacquiao: ‘I have not made my final decision’ regarding Freddie Roach

It’s been reported everywhere, thanks to press releases from his own team, that Manny Pacquiao will not be trained by Freddie Roach for his July bout with Lucas Matthysse.

But Pacquiao himself now says he hasn’t made his final decision:

“Contrary to statements which I personally did not make that are circulating in the media, I have not made my final decision who will be my head trainer for my July 14 fight with Matthysse. My advisor Mike Koncz has been in contact with Freddie’s people to keep them informed. I will make a final decision within the week. When that decision is made, Freddie will be the first one to be informed and then I will advise the media.”

Pacquiao, 39, hasn’t fought since a controversial decision loss to Jeff Horn in July 2017, and a lot of the chatter was that Pacquiao wasn’t happy with Roach’s coaching (or lack thereof) in the fight.

But who knows? Manny may be considering working without Roach, but they’ve been together for 16 years and almost every big fight of Manny’s career, through the entire run that made Pacquiao an international superstar and one of the best fighters in boxing history. It’s entirely possible that as the real decision gets close, Pacquiao gets cold feet about abandoning the professional relationship.

If Roach doesn’t train Pacquiao, it’s expected that his friend Buboy Fernandez will serve as the lead trainer against Matthysse.