Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, spars with his trainer Freddie Roach at a media workout in preparation for his upcoming boxing match against Timothy Bradley, at Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Pacquiao will be defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship crown against WBO junior welterweight champion Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Saturday, June 9. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
HOLLYWOOD—Freddie Roach wants a knockout, but he’ll settle for a dominant win by Manny Pacquiao Saturday night.
The Hall of Fame trainer gave Pacquiao the thumbs-up sign as they closed training camp at the Wild Card Gym here for the long drive to Las Vegas.
He let Pacquiao spar for four rounds with Kevins Hoskins, did the mitts with the eight-division world champion and wound up satisfied.
“Good job,” Roach said as he patted Pacquiao at the back. “He’s been very good to me.”
Roach later told Manila-based sportswriters: “He’s sharp. We have a good training camp, one of the best ever.”
That’s why the five-time Trainer of the Year believes Pacquiao will be able to catch Bradley coming in and tally his first knockout win in his last five fights.
But if Bradly chooses to run, Roach knows the fight could go longer—though not the full 12 rounds.
“I don’t see it (12 rounds) happening right now, but if it does I’m not worried,” said Roach. “I expect Manny to win every round. As long as we put up a good fight and keep the pace up, I’ll be satisfied.”
According to Roach, Bradley may be durable and tough, but is prone to make some mistakes expecially when he gets excited.