Roach Lives on Planet Pacquiao

When promoter Bob Arum visited Pacquiao in the Philippines a couple of weeks ago, he caused a bit of a stir by stating that if they were to fight right then and there, that he would tab the “Tijuana Tornado” to defeat the “Pac-Man” based on what he witnessed. Now, statements like this must be taken with a grain of salt; after all, it’s Arum’s job to drum up interest in a fight that most see as an easy victory for Pacquiao.

"He’s just trying to wake Manny up a little bit, I would say. Manny didn’t have a great day of sparring and I think it was maybe more a wake-up call for Manny. But we need to improve to win this fight because he’s [Margarito] bringing everything and we expect him to be at his best and we have to be at our best to beat him," said Roach, who, when this fight was inked over the summer, predicted a blowout of the Mexican brawler. 

So, as of now, is he more or less confident of his earlier prognostication?

Roach admitted, "Less confident, unless things change in the next two weeks." And it’s not really about the guy they are facing. "I’m not worried about Margarito at all," he claimed. "I expect him to be at his best; he’s a professional. If he doesn’t get ready for a world title fight to do the best he can, he’s a fool. That’s expected. The thing is, I’m just less confident where Manny’s head’s at and I have two weeks here in L.A. to get his head on right."

Pacquiao and Roach spent four weeks in Baguio and then the last week in Manila. The trainer said of their last days in the Philippines, "The first three days in Manila was the worst. The last two days in Manila were the worst," he says this, laughing. Roach realized long ago he was powerless to stop such things. "Because they all wanted him. He had to meet the president. He had to miss training one day. I said, ’Who gives a f**k about the president? We have a fight coming up.’"

So is the Los Angeles version of Pacquiao better than the one Roach gets over there?

"100-percent," said Roach, "much more focused and one thing, it’s not just about being a congressman. It’s the way he handles himself, the way he’s proud of himself and the way he loves being in congress. I’m very proud of him and he’s very proud of himself. He told me after three days of training, ’I miss my job.’ I said, ’This is your job’. He said, ’No, I miss congress.’ So stuff like that scares me a little bit but because we may lose him to politics some day. He wants to help his country that badly."

As they wind down at the Wild Card before heading to Dallas, the gym will be sealed off like never before. Outside of one media day that takes place this Wednesday afternoon, access to Pacquiao and the gym will be more limited than ever.

"I had to close it down completely. I need his focus. The conditioning and stuff, it’s all there right now. It’s just his focus is not 100-percent. He’s still got congress on his mind and so forth," said Roach. "Now he’s in Los Angeles; we know the fights close. He’s going to focus on the fight and the game plan."

As for any A-listers hoping to drop by, he says, "Guys like Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale and stuff like this, they want to come, I’m going to have to say no."

To help lighten the load on Pacquiao, Roach has agreed to take on more media obligations than ever. This means that in between training the likes of Pacquiao, Amir Khan and his other boxers, he is keeping a detailed itinerary. His obligations include a multi-hour session for “60 Minutes” on Monday night.

"The more I do, the less that Manny does," said Roach. "So I’ll take that slack, it’s no problem. We’re going to keep Manny from doing as many interviews as possible. Again, the more I do, the less he has to do."

Pacquiao lives in his own world and everyone else is just fortunate to be a part of it, if they choose. Once a poor peasant, he has fought his way to international stardom and acclaim. More than just a prizefighter, he is now a legitimate politician and pop culture icon (whose arrival at LAX was chronicled by TMZ.com). While he says he serves the common man as a member of congress, he long ago stopped being one.

But does he at least realize that November 13^th just might be a tougher night than he realizes? And like everybody else, that the Filipinos love a winner?

"I had a long talk with him on the plane," said Roach. "I told him, ’Manny, you made a decision to run for congress. You win this fight, you made the right decision. You lose this fight, it was the wrong decision.’ I said, ’Your politics are over if you don’t win this fight.’"

As for Roach, there is a part of him that wouldn’t mind just training fighters as he once did before Pacquiao walked through his doors in 2001. Not that he’s necessarily complaining about his current plight.

"No doubt about that; I’ve been walking around Baguio at two o’clock in the morning, just wandering around, being stressed out at times," he said. "It’s like so much going on with my life right now between ‘60 Minutes,’ ‘24-7,’ Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I mean, let’s face it; my whole life comes down to this month. In 30 days, if I win three fights, I’ll be ’Trainer of the Year’ again. If not..."

CATCHWEIGHT

I’ll say this again; if Margarito has an advantage here, it’s the catchweight of 150 pounds that was instituted for this fight (all in the name of Pacquiao winning an eighth world title). But in looking at Margarito, it looks like he’s very strong and stout and, in essence, you’re letting a big welterweight not have the responsibility of cutting the last few precious pounds off his big frame.

"I hate catchweight fights," said Roach. "We should fight at ’47; let’s face it. But they made the deal; I have to live with it."

As for what Pacquiao will come in at, Roach said, "He weighs 146 right now."

JUNIOR TIME?

I’m not exactly Kreskin but I never, ever thought for one nanosecond that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. would ever make his way to the Philippines, where Roach had hoped that Junior could provide sparring for Pacquiao. It’s pretty simple; if this guy could barely get to the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood for five-and-a-half-weeks prior to his fight with John Duddy, you weren’t going to get him to fly overseas for about that same amount of time.

"Your bet was as good as mine," said Roach, who figured all along that Chavez would be a no-show. "He’s not that kind of guy."

What was interesting was the reason given by Chavez of perhaps being a potential opponent for Pacquiao one day, he didn’t want to give him a good look at him inside the ring. In response, Roach said, "I know he just didn’t want to travel that long distance for camp. So that’s fine. If he wants to fight Manny Pacquiao some day, line ’em up."

As for when he expected to see Chavez Jr.- who faces Alfonso Gomez on December 4^th- Roach said on Monday, "We’re supposed to see him today."

Really?

With a laugh, Roach responded, "No."

SPARRING

As for the sparring Pacquiao received in the Philippines, Roach said, "Glen Tapia did a real good job and Michael Medina did a good job. Amir Khan helped me out quite a bit because Amir helped bring Manny’s speed back and we’re still going to use Amir over here. But I’m probably going to switch it up with the sparring partners on the other end. I’m going to use David Rodela; he throws a lot of punches and Rashad Holloway. I’m going to switch it up a little because Michael Medina did a great job but he’s just a little bit too big."

FAVRE FLURRIES

I’m still on the Jorge Linares bandwagon; I think he is great talent but after his most his recent thrashing of the faded Jesus Chavez, it’s time to get back in the fast lane...This Thursday’s edition of the “Fight Night Club” from Golden Boy Promotions features the gifted Gary Russell Jr...Told that Vanes Martirosyan, Jose Benavides, Gabino Saenz and Jesse Magdaleno have been added by Top Rank to their December 4^th show at the Honda Center in Anaheim...Recommended viewing:  NFL Network’s countdown of the top 100 players of all-time...Can’t wait to watch the next “30 for 30” on Fernando Valenzuela. I can’t lie; as a kid, I was swept up in “Fernandomania” in 1981...So Allen Iverson’s basketball career will end in Turkey? Don’t even know what to say about that...Say what you will about Brett Favre; this year’s return has been a disaster on many levels but whether his consecutive game played streak comes to an end this week or not, in my opinion, playing that many games without interruption at quarterback is just as amazing as Cal Ripken Jr.’s record...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.