Roach: Boxing has been held hostage by Floyd

By Raj Parmar: Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach claims he is looking to break the sport of boxing free from Floyd Mayweather Jr’s clutches on May 2. Roach feels Mayweather has had a negative impact on the sport since becoming the face of boxing in 2007 and that the world is eagerly looking forward for Manny to put an end to Floyd’s reign.

“Our long international boxing nightmare will soon be over,” Freddie Roach stated as the Pacquiao team broke camp in Los Angeles and headed to Las Vegas, “Boxing has been held hostage by Floyd Mayweather and his antics long enough.

Manny is going to stand up to Floyd on May 2 and put a bully in his place. Manny is on a mission. This fight is his crusade. The fans of the world are rooting for Manny to win just like they willed this fight to happen. He is their champion. This will be their victory.”

Freddie likely is feeling this way due to the widely held view out there that Floyd does not match himself up against the top opposition and instead picks and choose his opponents. While many have accused Mayweather of fighting lesser opponents, he has ignored all criticism and gone on to become the highest paid athlete in sports while being labelled as the best boxer of this current era.

Roach understands that Manny should be the underdog due to Floyd not having suffered a loss as yet, however he has no doubt that Pacquiao will pull off the upset.

“On paper – and in the sports books – Manny shouldn’t stand a chance. But neither did David against Goliath,” Roach said, “Just remember, Manny has always come out on top when he was the underdog and you don’t have to look any further than his victories over Ledwaba, Barrera and De La Hoya. As Manny said earlier, ‘It is time for Floyd to lose.’”

With the showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao less than a week away, Manny’s team are clearly viewing this as a good vs evil matchup and feel that a win is an absolute must.

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