Coach sees Pacquiao knocking out Rios

Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao (R) trains with his coach Freddie Roach at a gym in General Santos City, on the southern island of Mindanao on October 24, 2013. AFP FILE PHOTO

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—Coach Freddie Roach said he expects eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao to knock out former World Boxing Organization light welterweight title-holder Brandon “Bambam” Rios when the two face off in Macau on November 24.

“The fight will not go the full distance. There would be a knockout inside eight rounds,” Roach told reporters,  including 40 visiting Chinese journalists,  here on Thursday, as he expressed satisfaction with Pacquiao’s performance during training.

“There’s no question about his speed and he has even become stronger,” Roach said, adding, however, that Pacquaio was not fully prepared yet for the fight, especially with respect to his timing and technique.

“The way I see it, he is just 75 to 80 percent ready,” he said.

This was the reason Pacquiao will focus the rest of his training on timing and technique, Roach said.

But even if the fight was to be held today, Roach said, he was  confident that Pacquiao would defeat Rios because the southpaw “is a lot better ring gladiator.”

He said that having Alex Ariza for a trainer, Rios has just become a weaker fighter.

“This guy knows nothing about boxing,” Roach said of Ariza, who once served as Pacquiao’s conditioning coach.

If he wins, Pacquiao will not only be redeeming himself from his successive losses against American Timothy Bradley and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez but will also be $18 million richer.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said the amount was the Filipino boxer’s guaranteed purse in his bout with Rios but he might bring home up to  $25 million in cash in light of his share of pay-per-view receipts.

Arum said he too saw  Pacquiao having an edge with his “regained power.”

“It looks like he’s not getting older. I can see in his eyes the hunger for victory. His one-year layoff from boxing worked to his advantage,” Arum said at the same news conference.

Sources within Team Pacquiao said the Filipino boxer has been flooring his sparring partners, such as welterweight Ghanaian Frederick Lawson and British light middleweight Liam Vaughan.

On Monday, Pacquiao will be sparring with lightweight prospect Anthony Marcial of Zamboanga City, the latest addition to his pool of sparring partners.