MANILA, Philippines—Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach believes that Manny Pacquiao will beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. so thoroughly on May 2 that the American—like Oscar De La Hoya before him—will be forced into retirement.
Unlike ring pundits and Pacquiao himself, though, Roach thinks that a rematch with Mayweather will not happen if the Filipino eight-division title holder prevails in their fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“If Floyd loses that fight and Manny fights the perfect fight, I don’t think Floyd will want the rematch,” Roach told Lance Pugmire of the LA Times from Macau. “It’s the end of his career.”
The seven-time Trainer of the Year said Mayweather will find that a first defeat will be hard to take after piling up a 47-0 record.
“He’s so crazy about that zero,” Roach said of the brash American, who still has two fights left in his multimillion-dollar contract with Showtime.
Pacquiao has intimated to close friend, former two-division world champion Gerry Espinosa, that “there will be a rematch in November”—a statement that betrays Pacquiao’s confidence in winning the fight that is projected to gross over $300 million (about P13.2 billion).
But because Mayweather calls the shots for the fight, Pacquiao cannot seek a rematch if he loses.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao told AFP that he will attack Mayweather from the get-go.
“He can run but he can’t hide,” said Pacquiao, who added he is also prepared if Mayweather chooses to slug it out.
RELATED STORIES
Roach: Pacquiao will do ‘public service for boxing’ when he beats Mayweather
Roach: Mayweather adviser blocking our sparring partners