AMERICAN trainer Freddie Roach is banking on Manny Pacquiao’s vaunted hand speed and nimble footwork to run rings around and then stick it to Errol Spence Jr. in their world welterweight title clash on Aug. 21 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Hit and not be hit. Yes, that’s what we’re working on. Manny still has the hand speed and foot speed to do that,” Roach said in an interview with boxingscene.com’s posted on YouTube yesterday.
The ring guru noted that the undefeated and reigning International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council welterweight champion “is flat-footed. He doesn’t really have good footwork. I think Manny kills him there.”
But he added that engaging in a slugfest with the unbeaten Spence, who has won all of his 27 fights, 21 of them by knockout, was not in the interest of his prized ward.
“If you say in the pocket with him (Spence) for too long, he’s very dangerous and he can still punch. That can be our biggest problem. That’s what we’re getting him (Pacquiao) ready for. We’ve fought many boxers like that before,” the trainer said. “Manny has a good chin but I don’t want to bet that chin tested.
“If it was up to me, I want him (Pacquiao) defensively moving and making Spence miss all night long while boxing circles around him,” Roach added.
“I’ve studied these (expletive) tapes over and over again. I don’t miss nothing. I am going to come up with the best game plan I can for my fighter,” he said.
Pacquiao, 42, who sports a record of 67 wins (39 KOs) against seven losses and two draws, will be up against a 31-year-old Spencewho has the size, age and reach edge over him, but Roach is not fretting.
“We’ve done that before. That’s nothing new. Manny is ready to go. He’s a good puncher, he’s got speed. All of the good things he has are still there,” the coach said. “He’s 42, of course, but he’s work ethic has shown me that it’s still there.”
He said the Filipino ring icon made a deal several years ago that he would be the first to tell Roach if he no longer had what it takes.
While he earlier preferred Mikey Garcia for Pacquiao’s ring comeback, Roach said that “when he picked this guy (Spence) I was happy as could be” after sizing up the defending champion.
He added he wasn’t surprised when the Filipino fighter eventually chose a formidable foe who is a 2-1 favorite to retain both of his titles.
