LOS ANGELES—With less than three weeks left before he embarks on the biggest fight in his career, Manny Pacquiao gave the media a glimpse of his state of preparedness during a press day at the at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood on Monday, November 17. Speaking in his usual restrained tone, he told reporters that the upcoming fight with Oscar de a Hoya will be the biggest fight of his life,
"This is the biggest fight in my life…in my boxing career, and it will be a big honor for me to win the fight for my country," he said. Pacquiao said that the heat in Southern California is helping him come down from his present weight of 151 pounds to a fighting weight of 147 pounds. "I like to train here, and I am 98 per cent ready for the fight. I am decided, and I am just maintaining my condition," Pacquiao said.
When a reporter asked if he was cognizant of the height advantage of Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao responded, "Well, I understand he is bigger than me. But I think that is not a problem; that his height is not a problem. We are focused on speed and lateral movement; we will apply some techniques for him."
Pacquio said that speed will be the key in this fight.I think that’s my advantage," Pacquiao told the reporters.
Although Pacquiao was restrained in his assessment of the December 6th fight, Freddie Roach, is more upbeat in his assertion that Pacquiao would be the winner. "Manny is where he needs to be, and he is in great shape for this fight," Roach said. "We’ve had another hard week of sparring, and his weight is 151 pounds right now. We’ve got to trim a few ounces of his weight with less protein off his diet; his weight will come down naturally."
Roach said that Pacquiao is definitely ready. "Manny had great sparring sessions with bigger and taller fighters to prepare him for De La Hoya, and that they have worked out great," Roach informed reporters. "Manny was handling the big guys with no problem. He is ready."
Pacquiao’s head trainer claimed he knows De La Hoya because he had trained him. "The better man will win. I believe I have the better man," he said. "This is not a contest between me and De La Hoya’s trainer. We are both doing our job getting our fighters ready," Roach asserted. And I am not really concerned what De La Hoya’s trainer says, what he does with Oscar. I am worried about my guy."
He said he got Pacquiao to the best shape of his life. "We’re going to have a great fight. I believe that he will knock out Oscar. "This is the biggest fight of Manny. He is a legend and Oscar is one of the greatest fighters in the world. But he is not anymore because he is older, and if you look in the history of boxing, when Rocky Marciano knocked out Joe Louis, when Ali got knocked out by Holmes, and when Oscar beat Chaves, it’s about timing," Roach reasoned. "That’s what’s going happen in the ring, and I believe so."
"Oscar is not able to pull the trigger anymore," asserts Roach. He’s just not the same Oscar anymore. He’s stop pulling the trigger, like with Mayweather. He just stopped. Oscar’s mind is not strong because it’s really very hard to have a good, sharp mind if you are not active, Roach said.
Roach buttressed his reasoning by stating that Oscar has been inactive when compared to Pacquiao. "The biggest thing about this fight is that this is the fourth fight of Manny this year. Oscar has not fought four fights in one year," Roach reasoned. "You can’t be sharp if you are a part-time fighter. Being inactive can hurt him," Roach said about De La Hoya. "He may be taller, but that is the only advantage he has."
( Published November 19, 2008 p. B3 LAMDWK )
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
