Pacquiao to dish out speed, power

While others prefer to conceal their fight plans to keep the other camp guessing, noted American boxing trainer Freddie Roach deemed it right to unveil his strategy for Manny Pacquiao for all Juan Manuel Marquez to see seven weeks into their keenly-awaited May 8 clash at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Vegas on HBO. 

In an interview with Fightworld.us, Roach said Marquez, the IBF and WBC featherweight champion, will be facing an opponent he has never faced before, a challenger who hits like a middleweight and throws punches with so much power and speed whom he likened to Bruce Lee, considered as the greatest martial artist of the 20th century.

"Manny’s got so much power and fire. He’s so quick. He just puts it all together. He’s an amazing athlete. He’s like Bruce Lee," said Roach, himself as shock as the others who have seen how Pacquiao play with the mitts at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.

He added: "Pacquiao has great legs and balance. He turns everything over real crisp and fast. While speed guys don’t have any pop, Pacquiao hits like a ton! And he hits as hard as a middleweight."

A hard worker, Pacquiao is the epitome of a champion fighter, according to Roach, who feels that the General Santos native’s hand and foot speed will make the difference come fight night.

"He’s unbelievable with the quickness of his feet and hands. And it’s part of our strategy for this fight. Because Marquez is a little bit of a counter-puncher, we’re gonna land combinations and then be gone. There’s gonna be a lot of in and out, side-to-side movements," added Roach.

"The difference between the two fighters is Manny’s hand and foot speed.  So, we’re working on a lot of angles, and not standing in front of this guy after he’s landed combinations. We’re still seven weeks away from the fight and it’s still early, but you see how Manny works. This kid makes my job fun. He loves to work hard," said Roach.

But he said there’s so much work to be done, particularly in developing and polishing Pacquiao’s side-to-side movement which Roach said would compensate for his ward’s straight-up boxing style.

"Because after he lands a combination, if he stops punching, he’s right in front of you. So, he’s got to step off to the side  – left and right, not straight back. It’s just something we have to work on, because Marquez is gonna try to take advantage of that, of course. It will be part of our game plan. Manny has very good eyes. He sees punches coming. He looks like he’s right in front of you…but he’s gone," said Roach.

The upcoming bout has all the makings of a classic encounter.

Boxing scribe Matthew Aguilar, in an earlier article published in El Paso Times, said that the Pacquiao-Marquez showdown is arguably boxing’s best fight wherein fans from all the world could expect fireworks and bombshells right after the opening bell.

Aguilar said Pacquiao’s combination of speed and pinpoint punching has put the General-Santos City native on the brink of stardom, while the stoic Marquez is deadly accurate, powerful, and tough.

"When the first bell rings, look for a mushroom cloud," said Aguilar.

The Pacquiao-Marquez duel is so hard to predict that at this stage, experts are still split on who will win with some of the top oddsmakers are confused as to who should be the betting favorite.

However, Las Vegas oddsmakers have installed Pacquiao a 7-5 favorite, a thing that drew the ire of Marquez, who felt slighted by the odds.

"That’s really hard to believe since I’m the champion," said Marquez. "Pacquiao just gave me all the motivation I need. Wait until you see me in training camp," added the Mexican double champion, who earlier vowed that only in death will he relinquish his pair of crowns to the Filipino boxing hero.

But while Marquez appeared to be prudent on his declarations, Pacquiao seemed to be very optimistic of his winning chances to the extent of looking forward to another mega-fight with WBC super featherweight king Erik Morales. — Dante Navarro