By Dave Lahr: You can always count on Freddie Roach picking Manny Pacquiao to win all of his fights by knockout no matter who he’s facing. It’s like clockwork. There’s no guess to it. If Pacquiao is fighting, Roach is picking him by knockout. In this case, Roach is taking it to another level, saying to Philboxing.com “I am betting my house on Manny. And had I married and had children, I will also bet them that Manny will beat [Antonio] Margarito and etch his name in boxing history as the first man to win an eighth title in as many divisions.”

I think Roach needs to step back and clear his head for a minute because he’s starting to babble. Pacquiao won’t be winning on Saturday against Margarito, even with a handy catch-weight handicap of 150 pounds working for the Filipino star. Having a handicap in a title fight is the strangest thing, isn’t it. It reminds me of golf. Why would Pacquiao need a handicap if he’s shooting for an eighth world title?

I don’t recognize Pacquiao as having seven world titles, because I have an asterisk next to his win over Miguel Cotto for the WBO welterweight title last year because it was held at a catch-weight instead of the full weight for the division. Cotto can barely make 147, and the catch-weight had him looking terrible on the day before the fight. Roach can crow about Pacquiao shooting for an 8th world title as much as he likes, but I won’t recognize it.

Roach continued to flap his gums about Pacquiao, saying “After our stint here [in the Philippines] following Manny’s so-so performance in Manila and Baguio confirmed my earlier belief that he is still the same man I used to know, the best boxer in the world.” I think Roach did a great job of talking down Pacuqiao, but I see that as Roach’s way of selling more tickets and more pay per view buys by making it seem Pacquiao was having a bad camp. The guys skips a couple of training sessions and fights at half speed against fringe contenders and prospects and he’s having a bad camp? I don’t buy it.