Ariza fired; Roach to run Pacquiao’s strength & conditioning program

By Boxing News - 08/07/2013 - Comments

ariza56 (2)By Chris Williams: As reportedly over the weekend, trainer Freddie Roach has reportedly fired strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza after meeting with Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) to speak with him about problems he’d been having with him.

Roach now plans on taking over Ariza’s job as the strength and conditioning coach for Pacquiao in addition to being his trainer. According to Yahoo, Roach will be using Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in the Orange County area to help work on Pacquiao’s problems with leg cramps.

Letting Ariza go is a real risky thing for Pacquiao, because you can make a strong case that Ariza was instrumental in making Pacquiao a success in fighting at super featherweight to junior middleweight. Ariza worked on Pacquiao’s and conditioning for 5 years, and helped him capture titles in 5 different weight classes.

To be sure, Pacquiao hasn’t been doing well lately with losses in his last two fights, but Ariza says that they haven’t used the full regimen of strength and conditioning since the Miguel Cotto fight in 2009. I thought Pacquiao looked his best in that fight, and he had been fighting well up to that point.

Pacquiao hasn’t looked nearly as good since the Cotto fight in beating Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, and Juan Manuel Marquez [by controversial decision]. And in Pacquiao’s last two fights, he’s lost to Tim Bradley and Marquez. It looks like Pacquiao hasn’t really shined since the Cotto fight.

I think Pacquiao is making a huge mistake in letting Ariza go. If the guy helped Pacquiao win 5 world titles, why would you let him go?

Roach said to Yahoo Sport “I had a discussion with Manny and I told him that I had a lot of trouble working with Alex, because he was always trying to do everyone else’s job…Manny said, ‘You’re the boss. You hired him.’ When he said that, I fired him.”

I don’t see what the problem is. Ariza is trying to help out, showing initiative, and Roach gets bent out of shape. If Roach had a problem with Ariza, he should have been assertive with him by setting the boundaries. After all, if Roach hired him, he should have been able to tell him what he wanted from him. I think Ariza would have listened.

I have a feeling that Pacquiao won’t be able to turn things around with his career without Ariza working on his strength and conditioning. You don’t let a guy go like that when he’s had a great run like that. It doesn’t make sense.



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