By Rob Smith: Trainer Freddie Roach doesn’t see the point of Manny Pacquiao taking a tune-up fight in April against a still to be determined opponent. Roach believes that Pacquiao is fighting at such a high level now that a tune-up fight would serve no purpose in helping him.
Roach said in an interview at fighthub.tv “They’re talking about a fight in April in Macau right now, a tune-up with Manny. I really don’t want a tune-up right now. I don’t think a fighter like Pacquiao needs a tune-up fight. Manny was fighting the best fight [against Juan Manuel Marquez] I’ve seen in a long time.”
Roach sounds like an old school trainer. I’m not sure that he fully understands how badly Pacquiao was knocked out by Marquez last month in Manny’s 6th round knockout loss. Pretty much anyone that saw that knockout would have serious concerns about Pacquiao getting back in the ring only four months later.
A knockout like that could lead to Pacquiao getting hurt easier in his next fight, and you kind of want to take the cautious approach. If Pacquiao were to forget about a tune-up bout and face Marquez immediately in April, it could be really bad for Pacquiao. Roach should know this and it’s a little strange that he’s not seeing why there would be some worry about sending Pacquiao in the ring against Marquez.
I’m not sure if Roach is remembering the fight clearly or not, but Pacquiao wasn’t having the best fight in a long time. All you have to do is look at the knockdown he suffered in the 3rd round to tell you that Pacquiao didn’t look good. He got dropped by a right hand from Marquez, and he should have seen the punch coming because Marquez telegraphed it from a mile away. Even in the rounds that Pacquiao was doing well in, he was getting tagged hard by Marquez. The only way the fight would have gone in Pacquiao’s favor is if Marquez’s cuts become too bad for him to continue.
Pacquiao is doing the right thing by taking a tune-up fight. Roach may not agree with it but he’s not the one that was just knocked cold by Marquez.