Roach: Pacman has enough time

Manny Pacquiao said the other day he will leave nothing to chance when he goes up against Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera on Oct. 6 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“This is a big fight for me. I will not give Barrera a chance,” said Pacquiao as he looked forward to a second win over the Mexican whom he stopped inside 11 rounds in 2003.

But first, he must begin training.

Pacquiao was originally scheduled to start training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles Aug. 1, but has postponed his trip to the US a number of times over the last month.

Pacquiao’s Pinoy trainers, Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri, flew ahead of the boxer the other night. The moment Pacquiao sets foot in LA, the training calendar begins.

American Freddie Roach can’t wait to get things started, too, considering that there’s just 60 days before the day of the fight. At most, Pacquiao can train for seven weeks.

Roach believes that seven weeks should be enough for Pacquiao, and the American once said he has never seen any other boxer work as hard as Pacquiao in training. 

According to Wakee Salud, Pacquiao’s Cebu-based adviser, Pacquiao was booked for a flight to LA last night, and hoped that the boxer boards the PAL plane.

Pacquiao said the stakes are high in his rematch with Barrera since a victory will give him a clear shot at WBC super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez early next year.

“I don’t want to give Barrera a chance. I need this victory so I can keep my name,” added Pacquiao of his first fight since a big win over Jorge Solis last April and a big loss in the elections last May.

In fact, the anticipated rematch between the two great super-featherweights is a potential fight of the year. Pacquiao scored a sensational 11th round knockout over Barrera in 2003.

And the 28-year-old Filipino superstar, who also dabbles as an actor and a recording artist, expects a second victory over Barrera – whether by knockout or by decision.

Pacquiao was having his lunch last Sunday when contacted by The STAR. Though there was no TV set in front of him, he already knew that Rodel Mayol had lost in his bid for the IBF light-flyweight crown.

“Talo si Mayol. Talo din si Erik (Morales),” he said even when delayed coverage of the Erik Morales-David Diaz bout in Illinois on TV was just about to start.