Roach disappointed after losing KO bet

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines sits in his corner with trainer Freddie Roach between rounds of his WBO welterweight championship fight against Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP

LAS VEGAS–For Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao gave a really bright opening Saturday. Too bad, he didn’t deliver the perfect ending.

“Yes, I’m a little bit disappointed,” said Roach during the post-fight press conference of The Legend vs
The Champ headlined by Pacquiao and Jessie Vargas.

The seven-time Trainer of the Year thought Pacquiao would be able to follow up on his second round knockdown of Jessie Vargas and end his seven-year quest for a stoppage.

Instead, Vargas survived the sporadic onslaughts and Pacquiao had to settle for a clear unanimous decision over Vargas in reclaiming the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown for the second time.

“Vargas showed a lot of heart in fighting a very good opponent,” said Roach, who had told some reporters earlier that he put a bet on Pacquiao winning by knockout.

Well, Pacquiao did try as he hurt Vargas more than a couple of times and was always looking for openings to detonate lethal bombs.

Vargas, however, turned out to be an adequate defender and counter-puncher and lasted the final bell.

“Well, you know we had a very god training camp,” said Roach. Thought he did well.”

Except, of course, that the knockout eluded him once again. Brought to you by: Cafe Puro