Something strangely dumb is happening to Freddie Roach and he must be led back to the boxing ring corner where he effectively belongs.

If to a Sherpa guide in Manny Pacquiao’s quest for a personal Everest, Roach has taken the wrong path.

He must go back to being, pure and simple, Pacquiao’s trainer.

* * *

To start with, Roach tried to function as a manager—a role he claimed he abhorred—in pushing Pacquiao to fight Oscar De La Hoya, who holds a tremendous edge over the Filipino boxing superhero in practically all departments of the forthcoming duel.

That lapse was forgivable, unlike what Roach has been doing in trying to take the role as lead salesman of the Dream Match slated at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Dec. 6 (Dec. 7 in Manila).

* * *

As the trainer and navigator in Pacquiao’s ascent to boxing immortality, Roach cannot afford to lose focus.

He must also start reconsidering his original stand that he won’t be caught in a rivalry slug-out with the great Mexican trainer Nacho Beristain.

Roach, for now, should also stop claiming Beristain is none of his concern.

Roach must remain honest to himself.

* * *

This is not the usually composed, competent trainer we’ve been seeing in Roach lately.

That shot he took in pulling out a toy gun that could not fire, in order to make fun of De La Hoya, was a shallow left hook.

Roach, in fact, did not have to top that silly move by tucking on a portrait of the Golden Boy over his own belly, which was meant to serve as main target for the Pacman in training.

* * *

It was a hysterical bid at trying to look smart and competent.

If Roach is indeed certain De La Hoya is rotten around the belly, why bring this out in the open?

OK, Roach had had the rare chance of personally dissecting De La Hoya’s athletic anatomy when he trained the Golden Boy against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

However, Roach was, at best, being childish in flaunting this perceived advantage.

* * *

That weak portion, if indeed it’s there, is not for public consumption; but only for him and Pacquiao to fully explore and exploit.

In the first place, Roach had obviously erred in making De La Hoya perform feats beyond his available physical capacity during that fight against Mayweather.

Worse, Roach had visibly concentrated on style and tactics, considered among De La Hoya’s inborn gifts.

This is hard to confirm, but it’s very possible Beristain is now using that Roach failure to prepare De La Hoya to his full physical capacity in focusing against Pacquiao.

Beristain is too sharp and seasoned to be told that, against Pacquiao, style and tactics should not be tackled ahead of superb physical conditioning.

* * *

It’s like this: if De La Hoya, indeed, had been incapable of pulling the trigger, as Roach had loudly claimed, against Mayweather, it was not solely Oscar’s fault.

It was Roach who failed to make Oscar pull the trigger.

In fact, Beristain has obviously discovered that De La Hoya, not too late in years, could still be restored to his full physical greatness given ample time and competent training.

* * *

Yes, De La Hoya and Beristain are quietly engaged in taking the ascent back to physical perfection.

For his part, Roach must be fully focused.

Better yet, he must start training Pacquiao to be less predictable, if not invisible, inside the ring.

Their biggest chance of scoring an upset (come Dec. 6) hinges on their ability to make De La Hoya miss his target.