Roach: Pacquiao needs to KO Horn to land big fights

In this photo taken on September 29, 2016, Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao trains at a gym in Manila, ahead of his November 6 bout with Mexican boxer Jessie Vargas. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

Manny Pacquiao may not be as heavy handed as he once was during his prime but his longtime trainer Freddie Roach believes his prized student can still pack a punch.

Pacquiao hasn’t won by stoppage since stopping Miguel Cotto in 2009 but Roach is convinced the drought will finally end against Jeff Horn on July 2.

“His power is as good as ever. He is showing me that he still has the power,” said the Hall-of-Fame cornerman. “Believe me he does. The other day when he gave me a shot I think he broke my rib. It’s still sore. He has great punching power and still has KO power.”

“I’m looking for a knockout too. He has the speed and the power. He lost his killer instinct along the way but I still think he wins this fight by knockout.”

Roach said Pacquiao needs to win by knockout not only to break the dry spell but more significantly, to land big fights in the future.

“I believe that Manny needs to really look good in this fight to get Mayweather. To have a big fight, you have to have great performances. I told Manny, ‘If you want Mayweather you really need to look good in this fight’ and I said, ‘We should knock this guy out,'” Roach said.

“But he knows what’s in front of him and I think the better he does in this fight, the bigger fight he’ll get next.”

The 38-year-old Pacquiao, who won eight of his 11 fights from Sept. 2005 to Nov. 2009 by stoppage including a brutal KO win in the second round over Ricky Hatton, beat Jessie Vargas and Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision in his last two fights.

In contrast, the unheralded Horn, who is known more for being a school teacher in Australia than a boxer, has won his previous three fights by KO.