What’s Mr. Roach trying to market?
When Freddie Roach tried to advertise last year that Keith Thurman was slow as Heinz Ketchup, several boxing fans looked and listened.
Roach was proven grossly wrong. Thurman, in fact, oozed with strong moves and came close to finishing off Manny Pacquiao, who was fading rapidly in the championship rounds.
Pacquiao was lucky to have survived and win, thus adorning his brand.
Of course, there also came calls for Pacquiao to hang up his gloves after struggling to retain his WBA welterweight crown.
————————-There’s nothing clear or definite on whether Pacquiao would continue fighting.
There were off-and-on hints he would be fighting this year, after turning 41.
Rumors of a clash with UFC star Connor McGregor floated, causing some excitement; but these soon faded out flat.
Then, straight from Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, stood up famous American trainer Freddie Roach.
He stated firmly that Pacquiao hits harder than Iron Mike Tyson.
It was not a mere suggestion. Roach said Pacquiao’s power beats that of Tyson, widely perceived as the most powerful KO artist in boxing history.How really big is a Pacquiao knockout punch?
“My whole body went like numb. The power, speed and explosion is much greater than just dense power,” Roach told Daily Star (UK).
————————-Roach must be kidding, pundits, would claim; while others suggested he was trying to steal the scene, ludicrously.
Was Roach also trying to market the Cleto Reyes boxing gloves, Pacquiao’s favorite on-ring weapon?
Or was it a crude try to draw back attention to the rumored Pacquiao-McGregor money clash?
Roach, for the record, had the chance to train Tyson, in the tail-end stretch of Iron Mike’s career.
Roach often claimed he would end up with blood in his urine after working the mitts with Pacquiao in the lead-up to big bouts.
————————-There were also experts who found Roach completely off target.
Said Lou Block of NowBoxing.com: “You can’t take what Roach says seriously, he will hype up his fighters no end to the point of exaggeration. When Tyson hit an opponent, they went to sleep or were badly hurt. When Pacquiao hit an opponent, like he did with Thurman, they usually don’t get badly hurt.”
It was also noted how Roach claimed Pacquiao had shunned hurting opponents badly after the fighting senator became a born-again Christian.————————-So what’s Freddie Roach really up to?
Truth is Tyson won’t mind being ranked a weaker puncher.
In one interview before retirement, Tyson ranted that he didn’t believe in talent, but relied wholly on dedication and focus.
Would he like to be remembered as the strongest KO artist in boxing history?
“Just fine if they recall me as the most ferocious,” Iron Mike clarified.
Roach, by the way, got likened to a drifter trying to sell ice to an Eskimo. INQ
