By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach is hoping that he can bring his fighter Manny Pacquiao back to where he was when he was 24-years-old, fast on his feet, and knocking out most of the over-matched opposition that was routinely being fed to him at the time. Roach thinks he can get Pacquiao to turn back time and the ravages of age simply by having him do the same kinds of exercises and gym workouts that he did years ago.
It sounds simple, right? I don’t think it’s going to turn out well for Pacquiao. He’s got a fight coming up on December 8th against Juan Manuel Marquez, and Pacquiao desperately needs a win and an impressive performance in this fight to quiet the whispers that he’s starting to lose it. Roach has the brilliant idea of taking Pacquiao backwards in time to an earlier, arguably more primitive stage in his career when he was fighting all out like a wild animal in the ring. But I don’t think it’s possible.
Pacquiao and Roach are going to take a big ego hit on December 8th when Marquez shows Pacquiao’s age by either beating him outright or fighting well enough to deserve a decision. No way does Pacquiao fight like he did in their first fight in 2004, which to Roach seems to be the gold standard for Pacquiao in terms of his lost game. I watch that fight and I still can’t give Pacquiao the win or a draw. Marquez completely dominated the fight after the 1st round, and never looked back. It’s sad that the judges gave Pacquiao a draw, because I had Marquez winning by four rounds.
This whole thing about bringing Pacquiao back to an earlier stage in his career is so sad. It reminds one of an aging person wishing they could go back to their senior prom to correct all the mistakes they made. It’s just not possible. Pacquiao is 33, and he’s about to turn 34. He’s not a young 34-year-old either. He moves like someone nearing 40 in my estimation, and that’s not good given that he’s about to face Marquez, who pretty much has established that he has Pacquiao’s number in their three previous fights together.
Comments are closed.