ON THE EVE OF the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight, all I could think about was a statement made by Manny’s coach and chief trainer Freddie Roach during a press conference held recently in Las Vegas.
A researcher-friend who practically spends all his free hours surfing the internet said he stumbled across an item that quoted Roach as saying that if he had his way, he would have Manny retire from active boxing at age 30.
Roach did not elaborate.
My friend was puzzled that nobody wrote about this statement, and that nobody even noticed it.
He wondered what prompted Roach to make this statement, considering that at 30, Manny will still be considered to be at the peak of his career.
Does Freddie know something that we don’t?
* * *
This December, Manny will turn 30. If Freddie’s recommendation will be followed, the boxing icon should be retiring by year 2009.
In which case his fight against Ricky Hatton could very well be his last.
Is it possible, asked my friend, that Freddie might be concerned about Manny’s health? His style of boxing makes heavy demands on the body and the punishment it has taken over the years could be taking its toll.
Could Freddie’s keen eyes noticing signs of these wear and tear?
* * *
Freddie was a little over 30 when his trainer Eddie Futch, who handled famous boxers like Joe Frazier, advised him to retire.
But Freddie didn’t listen. He changed his trainer and continued to fight for another four years. By that time he had acquired Parkinson’s disease, an ailment most boxers like Muhammad Ali suffer from as a result of the hard knocks their bodies are subjected to during their active years.
Freddie is lucky though, that his condition was a lot less serious than Ali’s.
When he returns to Manila, and I get the chance to speak to him, I must remember to ask Freddie to elaborate on this loaded statement he made just before the Pacquiao-Diaz fight in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Secretly.
* * *
A bit of good news? Perhaps we won’t need the likes of a Reda Rhalimi or an Adam Parada to produce the first 7-foot cager.
That is if we are to take the word of basketball scholar Teddy Reynoso, who claimed that two cagers picked in the first round in the recent NBA draft are Filipino-Americans.
Robin and Brooke Lopez are twin brothers and they’re both listed as seven-footers.
Considering their height, they have a good chance of being signed up by the NBA teams that picked them (New Jersey selected Brooke at No. 10 while Phoenix selected Robin at No. 15—Ed).
But are they really Fil-Ams or do they only have Filipino-sounding surnames? Lopez could be Latino, you know.
I have requested Teddy to double check. Here’s hoping his information is accurate.
* * *
Touched base with Red Bull’s Raffy Casyao recently for two reasons: One, to congratulate him for being appointed alternate governor of the Barako and two, to ask if the team is still interested in 6-3 Fil-Am Dustin Coloso, son of ex-PBA cager Tim Coloso, who joined the 2003 draft and was picked by Red Bull.
Since Dustin was working on his green card at the time, he never made it to the Philippines or the PBA that year—or the next five years.
But the thought of playing in the PBA lingered in his mind.
Now that he has his green card in hand, Dustin has arranged to fly to the Philippines on July 11 to try his luck anew.
Can’t figure out if Dustin will have to go through the draft again or if Red Bull has the right of first refusal on him.
For sure though, he is not a free agent.
