Freddie Roach on Possible Pacquiao-Mayweather Showdown

By Boxing News - 02/04/2009 - Comments

roach63223By Sam Gregory: Floyd Mayweather coming out of retirement is major boxing news even though Floyd himself has never made such a claim. The BBC managed to catch up with Mayweather at his pre-Super Bowl party in Ybor City, Fla. Saturday night before the big game. Despite bombarding Floyd with as many questions in as many ways as possibly to ask the same question, the answer remained the same; Floyd has no intention to step out of retirement now or anytime in the foreseeable future to fight Ricky Hatton or anyone for that matter.

Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach expressed his excitement that the Pacquiao-Hatton fight has been finalized and said, “I’d like to see Manny fight Floyd Mayweather next.”

Pound-for-pound king Pacquiao, who inherited that position when Mayweather announced his retirement, still has to defeat 140 pound champ Ricky Hatton on May 2nd in Las Vegas before any such fight could materialize.

Roach admits the “tactical Mayweather would be a completely different experience for Pacquiao than facing the brawling Hatton. Very different styles, of course,” Roach said while doing a telephone interview from his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. “You would have two speed guys in there. I think Manny has more power, while Floyd’s a little better boxer. Style-wise, it’s really a tough fight, one of the toughest fights out there for Manny, because of Mayweather’s style and movement. But I think it’s a fight where Manny can push the issue and get to him.”

“If Mayweather lays on the ropes with Manny, I think he’d be in trouble. Very difficult fight but a fight the world would love to see because they’re both great fighters. The styles are good because you have the classic boxer against the puncher.”

The Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao fight will be the 20th fight Freddie Roach has been in Manny’s corner in nearly eight years. Roach said, he “always hoped for, and wanted, this fight next.”

“I told Manny I’d like to see him fight two more fights then he can retire, this fight, then Floyd, and if he wins those two fights he can call it a day,” Roach said. “He’ll have enough money he can secure his family then get into politics, or whatever he wants to do. But it doesn’t work in the opposite order, you can’t have Floyd first and then Hatton. This is the fight I wanted and this is the fight I expected to happen right away.”



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