By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach has finally admitted that it might not have been a good thing for Filipino star Manny Pacquiao had he faced Floyd Mayweather Jr five years ago when the two fighters first attempted to setup a fight with one another.
Perhaps luckily for Pacquiao the fight didn’t get put together, because his trainer is now finally confessing that Mayweather would have won that fight.
“Five years ago I would have probably favored Mayweather; now I favor Pacquiao,” Roach said to Reuters.
This is interesting because at the time, Roach was talking as if it would have been an easy fight for Pacquiao if he’d faced Mayweather. But now five years later, Roach is singing a totally different tune in saying he thinks Mayweather would have won.
With Roach admitting Mayweather would have won that fight, you have to wonder whether Roach truly believes that Pacquiao will beat Mayweather in their fight on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
If Roach wasn’t being straight with boxing fans five years ago in talking about his fighters’ chances against Mayweather, it only stands to reason that he also has doubts about Pacquiao’s chances against Mayweather this time.
“I think Pacquiao is going to win the fight. I think we can beat him yes, Roach said. “Pacquiao has the better legs…Pacquiao is a little faster and hit a little bit harder. I think we have more assets to win the fight.”
We’re going to find out on May 2nd if Roach’s prediction is going to come true when the two fighters get in the ring with one another, but I don’t buy any of what Roach is saying right now. Mayweather appears to have the better legs from what I can see.
If you watch both of their last fights, Pacquiao was really flat-footed in his fight against Chris Algieri. Pacquiao was walking Algieri down without showing the ability to move quickly or jump side to side the way he did earlier in his career. In contrast, Mayweather was moving the entire fight against Marcos Maidana in beating him by an impressive lopsided 12 round unanimous decision.
Mayweather was able to land shots from every angle, and it didn’t matter if he was off balance. Mayweather was still able to land pinpoint shots to the head of Maidana. Mayweather also was also fighting the much tougher opponent in my view than Algieri.
There’s no comparison really. Had Maidana been in the ring with Algieri last November, I don’t see Algieri surviving the full 12 rounds. Maidana would have out-boxed him, and then bludgeoned him into submission. Maidana’s foot speed also would have given Algieri a lot of problems; more so than Pacquiao, because Maidana moves better at this point in his career than Pacquiao does.
Roach is really up against it in trying to get Pacquiao ready for what Mayweather will be bringing to the table on 5/2. Roach had better make sure that he plans for Mayweather to use movement, because if he’s assuming that Mayweather’s legs are gone, he’s going to be in for a nasty surprise in this fight.
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