By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach is fine form already bragging about how good his fighter Manny Pacquiao is looking and how hard of a time his December 8th opponent Juan Manuel Marquez will have when they meet up at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s always like this. Roach bragging and predicting knockouts ahead of time, and then coming with the excuses afterwards when Pacquiao wins a controversial – read: gift – decision over Marquez.

Roach said to Phistar.com “Tell Juan Manuel Marquez to learn how to duck and cover. Manny Pacquiao had a vintage workout. He ripped the gym apart today.”

It’s always like that. Pacquiao looks good in beating up over partners, and then goes out and gets dominated by Marquez. It never changes.

I’m just waiting for Roach to start with the knockout predictions. He hasn’t started yet, and he’s well behind because he usually starts with the 12th knockout prediction and the works his way downward as the fight gets nearer. But maybe Roach has figured out that Pacquiao isn’t knocking anyone anymore and it’s better not to make predictions. It’s been three years and half years since Pacquiao last stopped an opponent and that happens to coincide with a decrease in Pacquiao’s performances. He looks slower, moves less, throws less punches and doesn’t fight as hard as he did years ago. The loss of knockouts are by product of this general slowing down we’ve been seeing.

You did notice how Roach said the word “vintage,” didn’t you? That probably means that he’s noticed that Pacquiao doesn’t fight like that anymore, so he makes a big production about it when Pacquiao does look good. It’s the old encouragement game where you try to encourage an aging fighter to get them to fight on the highest level that they can so they don’t get overwhelmed by an opponent.