Roach wala nang mahihiling pa

LOS ANGELES – Wala nang mahihiling pa si Freddie Roach sa kanyang premyadong estudiyante na si Manny Pacquiao.

“He did what he was supposed to do. He fought the game plan. He did it so I give him a 10 -- perfect,” anang three-time Trainer of the Year sa kanyang pagbabalik sa Wild Card Gym.

Katatapos lamang ni Roach sa pagsasanay sa kanyang isa pang boksingero na si Amir Khan, nang gunitain nito ang mga nangyari sa MGM Grand Arena, kung saan pinatulog ni Pacquiao si Ricky Hatton.

Isang resultang pinag-uusapan at aalalahanin sa mahabang panahon. Ngayon pa lamang ay tinagurian na itong ‘knockout of the year’ at si Pacquiao bilang ‘athlete of the year’.

Sinabi ni Roach na sinamantala lamang ni Pacquiao ang kahinaan ni Hatton, lalo na ng buksan nito ang sarili kapag umaatake at pinaghahandaan ang pagsuntok ng kaliwang kamay.

“Everything went as planned. Manny took advantage of him to the fullest. He was surprised, I knew that once we hurt him. He has never fought guys who can finish him off like Manny and Manny fought well,” ani Roach.

“So, that’s three perfect fights in a row,” dagdag niya, kung saan pinatutungkulan ang laban kina David Diaz at Oscar Dela Hoya noong nakaraang taon bilang ‘10s.

“Ricky just couldn’t stop making the same mistakes. He got hit my that right hook about 12 times. So he couldn’t make the adjustment. And we just took advantage of him. I truly believed that Manny was to knock him out early,” aniya pa.

Ang laban, na tumagal ng may isang minuto na lang nalalabi sa second round, at nakahigang tulog sa gitna ng ring si Hatton, ay masyadong malaki na inaasahang aapaw sa bubungan ang kinita sa pay-per-view.

“That’s what Bob Arum told me, that the pay-per-view sales are over and over,” ani Pacquiao na tumulong sa pagbenta ng 1.25 million buys sa kanyang laban kay Dela Hoya noong December. At inaasahang malalagpasan nito sa laban niya ngayon. (Abac Cordero)