Roach unbothered by Pacquiao’s sluggish starts in sparring

Freddie Roach at ringside during Manny Pacquiao’s sparring session Thursday. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach doesn’t mind seeing his prized pupil Manny Pacquiao go on slow starts during his sparring sessions in preparation for the Jeff Horn bout come July 2.

Pacquiao (59-6-2) is preparing to defend his WBO World welterweight championship against the undefeated Horn (16-0-1) in Australia, and has so far breezed through his sparring partners despite the sluggish beginnings.

“Whenever he wanted to turn it on, he did,” said Roach Thursday during Pacquiao’s training session at Elorde Gym in the Mall of Asia Complex.

Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division World champion, looked slow in the first two rounds of his sparring sessions but immediately turned up the ante when he faced up against Mexican Adrian Young.

The future Hall of Famer showed off his footwork and circled around a confused Young who sparred with Pacquiao for four rounds.

And for Roach, he doesn’t mind if Pacquiao wants to start things slow.

“He can turn it whenever he wants and that’s exactly what I want from him,” said Roach. “If he’s running through his sparring partners everyday we won’t have any sparring partners left.”