Roach demands old, lethal mix from Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao pummels the heavy bag. Roy Luarca
HOLLYWOOD—Freddie Roach wants Manny Pacquiao to deploy his full arsenal against Timothy Bradley on April 9.
The seven-time trainer of the year demands the lethal combination of speed and power from his prized ward this time. Pacquiao’s vaunted speed won’t suffice.
“Speed and power, that’s what I want to see,” Roach told Filipino sportswriters Monday. “We haven’t seen it in a long while.”
READ: PACQUIAO SHORTS: Daily tidbits on Pacquiao, straight from the US
Roach just fell short of saying that he’s pining to see Pacquiao knock out Bradley and end his ring career with a bang.
After all, Pacquiao’s last stoppage came way back in 2009 at the expense of Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto in the 12th round.
Pacquiao’s dazzling workouts Saturday and Monday propped Roach’s confidence for a stoppage this time.
READ: No weight problem for Pacquiao
“He’s fiery. He’s really on fire.” said Roach. “It’s a great workout. Power, speed, it’s a very good day.”
Reiterating his observation on Saturday, Roach said Pacquiao is ready to fight [Bradley].
“The thing is we still have a week to go; we still have some more sparring days, but he’s ready to fight right now.”
Pacquiao is scheduled to spar for six rounds Tuesday and four each Thursday and Saturday before Team Pacquiao heads for Las Vegas Monday.
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Roach was very pleased with the way Pacquiao breezed through the two-hour training session done behind closed doors at his Wild Card Gym here. “His footwork has always been great.”
Pacquiao started his day with his usual run, bucking a light drizzle at Griffith Park to also complete his morning exercises.
According to Filipino assistant trainer Marvin Somodio, Pacquiao was just as active in the afternoon training. After a 10-round mitts session with Roach, Pacquiao pummeled the bags and culminated his training by spending six rounds shadow boxing, 10 rounds jumping ropes and doing 1,000 sit-ups.
