Roach broadside irks Morales

LAS VEGAS — The word war continues between Erik Morales, the boxer, and Freddie Roach, the trainer.

Just three days before the fight of the year, Morales unleashed a flurry against Manny Pacquiao’s trainer who said the other day that the Mexican would need a lot of luck just to keep up with the hard-hitting Filipino.

"Freddie only speaks because he has a mouth. If he didn’t have a mouth he wouldn’t be saying this. He likes to talk. That’s what he is. I don’t have to listen to what he says," said Morales when he finally faced the media at the Top Rank Gym here.

Morales avoided talking to the media since he flew in from Mexico Monday evening. When he stepped into the Wynn Hotel, it seemed that he was in a bad mood, an attitude reportedly caused by a serious delay during a customs inspection in Texas.

At the Top Rank Gym Wednesday afternoon, a different Morales showed up.

Clad in blue sweat shirt, shorts and rubber shoes, the former three-time world champion finally talked to the media, sometimes smiling while fielding questions about the coming battle.

But when a veteran reporter quoted Roach as saying that Morales "doesn’t have enough juice left" in him as a result of the drastic weight reduction, Morales went on the offensive.

"I still got a lot left and you’ll see it," he said.

Referring to Roach, the 30-year-old Mexican added: "I’ve never been much of a talker outside the ring. I do my talking inside the ring. And it’s where we can determine who’s the better fighter — inside the ring."

A few hours later, at the media center at Wynn Hotel, Roach threw some counter-punches.

"Freddie only speaks because he has a mouth? How clever is that?" asked Roach in a brief chat with publicist Fred Sternburg and a couple of Pinoy scribes.

Asked if he really feels that Morales could last the distance, Roach answered that "the only way he’ll (Morales) last the distance is if he stays in the lockerroom."

Morales also vowed to make the weight Friday. The other day, his promoter Bob Arum said he was at 132, just two pounds over the weight limit.

Roach said Wednesday Pacquiao was between 129 and 131.

But while Morales and Roach traded barbs, Pacquiao was more diplomatic.

"I respect Morales when he said he can make the weight. All you need is discipline to make weight and he is a disciplined fighter," said Pacquiao.

While he said he’d go for a knockout when the opportunity comes, Pacquiao hoped that the fight would end with neither boxer really getting hurt.

"I’m just praying that nobody gets hurt. This is boxing and you can get hurt. But I want the fight to end with neither boxer needing to be brought or rushed to the hospital or something," he added.

Morales and Pacquiao will come face to face this morning during the final press conference at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Roach will be there, too.

NOTES: Billie Walker, a female photographer at let’stalkboxing.com, was so impressed watching Pacquiao train at the IBA Gym last Tuesday that she’s become an instant fan of the Filipino boxer. "I’ve never seen any boxer train like this. No wonder Filipinos think highly of him. I can’t believe what I just saw. And it was so exhausting just to watch him train," said Walker. Later on, she had her own picture taken with Pacquiao. She planted a kiss on Pacquiao’s cheek. "It’s such a humbling experience," she added… Freddie Roach, who normally stays in his mother’s house in Vegas whenever Manny Pacquiao fights here, moved in to the luxurious Wynn Hotel Wednesday afternoon. "Manny wanted me to stay here and so I moved in. He gave me a room that’s bigger than my house so I asked him ‘What am I supposed to do with this?’ Maybe I can ask my mom to move in, too for a change," said Freddie, a hardworking, down-to-earth fellow.