Roach gives Manny A-plus
DALLAS – Despite Manny Pacquiao’s failure to knock out Joshua Clottey, trainer-coach Freddie Roach said he was pretty much satisfied with the way his ward fought.
“I give him an A+,” said Roach.
The three-time trainer of the year awardee, however, expressed his disappointment over Clottey’s style.
Since Clottey was aiming for a world title against the world’s best fighter, Roach said he expected the Ghanaian challenger to be aggressive and not defensive-minded.
“He fought a very defensive fight. I thought he would be more offensive,” said Roach. “He was more in survival mode and when a guy is trying to survive, it’s hard to knock him out.”
Roach actually instructed the Filipino icon to go in for the KO after it appeared the fight would go the distance.
Clottey, however, stuck to his game plan and kept his hands high to survive the Pacquiao onslaught.
“I was looking for a knockout in the last round but he just did not open up,” said Roach.
This was the first time since March 2008 that Pacquiao heard the final bell, having gone the whole nine yards the last time against Juan Manuel Marquez for the world super-feather crown. – Abac Cordero
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