'Manny never complains'

MANILA, Philippines - When Manny Pacquiao nearly sank to his knees after taking two vicious left hooks to the side of the body in the sixth round of his fight against Antonio Margarito in Arlington, Texas, last November, trainer Freddie Roach wasn’t worried.

“I didn’t ask him about it, if he was hurt or what,” related Roach in a recent interview, referring to his corner conversation with Pacquiao in between the sixth and seventh rounds. “He never complains. I saw him sink a little bit after taking those shots. But he got away easily. Manny did everything we trained for in camp. Did he do anything wrong? Maybe, he should’ve gotten off the ropes a little more.”

Roach said Pacquiao tries to show something new in every fight. Against Margarito, he employed a trick he introduced in the Oscar de la Hoya bout. He poked a long left to the face or body, whichever was open, stepping away to his right and his opponent’s left. It was a counter reaction to a left jab. The move worked like a charm, catching both De la Hoya and Margarito repeatedly. The execution had to be precisely timed. After ducking a left jab, Pacquiao struck back quickly with a left straight sliding out laterally to his right. Neither De la Hoya nor Margarito could hit back with a right because by the time they uncorked, Pacquiao was a distance away.

The sixth round was where Pacquiao felt Margarito’s power. Two judges Oren Schellenberger and Glen Crocker gave Margarito a 10-9 advantage in that round. The other judge Juergen Langos still awarded it to Pacquiao – the former German fighter, in fact, scored a shutout for the Filipino, 120-108.

Daniel Herbert, reporting for Boxing News (Nov. 18), said “he (Pacquiao) conceded he was hurt by a body shot in round six but whenever Antonio landed – and he mostly connected with only one blow at a time – the Filipino whirlwind slammed back with volleys of four and five punches to regain the initiative.”

For the record, Pacquiao threw 1,069 punches to Margarito’s 817 in the 12-round contest for the vacant WBC superwelterweight crown. Pacquiao landed 474, eighth on the all-time list in title fights, while Margarito connected on 229. Margarito had the edge in jabs landed, 94-of-505, to Pacquiao’s 63-of-356, but that was because the Filipino icon concentrated on power shots where he went 411-of-713 to Margarito’s 135-of-312.

Herbert noted that “on the rare occasions Margarito did cut down Pacquiao’s room (as in the sixth round), the Filipino had the presence of mind to go out of there sharpish.” He added, “in and out, side to side, Pacquiao moved and landed solid punches with either hand throughout 36 minutes that were one-sided but always fascinating.”

While a reality TV docu-series is now in the works to chronicle Roach’s life, a book is also undergoing final touches for release in May. The book is entitled “The Wild Card – Hard Fought Lessons from a Life in the Ring” authored by Roach with HBO Sports 24/7 writer Peter Nelson. The 320-page hardcover edition will be available on amazon.com and bookstores. A blurb on the book said it is “an inspiring and amusing autobiography of boxing’s greatest trainer, an ex-pug living with Parkinson’s, the most popular white man in the Philippines, a formidable street fighter and a millionaire who slept for years in a makeshift apartment within his Los Angeles gym, Wild Card.”

Nelson accompanied Roach to Donetsk, Ukraine, last August when he worked the corner of WBA welterweight champion Viacheslav Senchenko in a fight against Venezuelan challenger Charlie Jose Navarro. Senchenko retained the title via a unanimous 12-round decision to improve his record to 31-0, with 20 KOs. Roach was paid $10,000 a week to train Senchenko for six weeks and 10 percent of the Ukrainian’s purse.

While Roach’s biggest payday as a fighter was anywhere between $7,500 and $13,000, he now earns a tidy sum training world champions like Pacquiao, Senchenko and Amir Khan. Roach has gone a long way from when he worked to the bone bundling bales of hay in his uncle’s Canada farmhouse to prepare for his pro debut in 1978.

Roach, 50, is a celebrity in his own right and he’s earned every bit of recognition from media and the fans.