Manny brings back Oscar tiff

MACAU – Manny Pacquiao’s decisive win over Brandon Rios reminded trainer Freddie Roach of the Filipino icon’s masterful showing in thrashing Oscar de la Hoya five years ago even though BamBam finished last Sunday’s fight on his feet while the Golden Boy quit on his stool after the eighth round.

“Manny was in control from start to finish,” said Roach. “He could’ve knocked out Rios if he wanted to. Rios was ready to go in the last two rounds but Manny held back.” It was the same compassion Pacquiao exhibited in letting Antonio Margarito off the hook in 2010.

Margarito was battered, bruised and bloodied as Pacquiao called on referee Laurence Cole at least twice in the late going to stop it. Cole, however, wouldn’t oblige. Pacquiao could’ve sent Margarito to dreamland if he wanted to. Margarito was virtually defenseless – after the fight, doctors confirmed his orbital bone was fractured. But Pacquiao gave Margarito the honor of staying on his feet at the final bell. The decision was a formality. Judge Oren Shellenberger scored it 119-109, Juergen Langos 120-108 and Glen Rick Crocker 118-110.  Pacquiao later explained that boxing is a sport, not an excuse to maim or injure.    

Against Rios, the scoring was exactly the same as in the Margarito fight. Lisa Giampa had it 119-109, Michael Pernick 120-108 and Manfred Kuechler 118-110. Coincidentally, trainer Robert Garcia was in the corner of both Margarito and Rios when they bowed to Pacquiao. They were also on that shameful video mocking Roach’s stutter and Parkinson’s tremors. Pacquiao, a devout Christian, said he has forgiven the fighters for their indiscretion.

Roach described Pacquiao as a workhorse who showed incredible stamina in sustaining a torrid pace throughout the 12-round bout against Rios. Age wasn’t a factor as Rios, 27, couldn’t match the energy of Pacquiao, 34. In the end, Rios conceded that he just couldn’t cope with Pacquiao’s speed. “I never expected him to be that fast,” sighed Rios.

With WBO lightwelterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov backing out of the Pacquiao stakes, Roach said the choice will come down to either Timothy Bradley or Juan Manuel Marquez as his next opponent. Bradley isn’t commercially viable as his unexciting style is a turn-off for fans even as he is undefeated and wears the WBO welterweight crown. Marquez is asking too much money for a fifth fight against Pacquiao and could be pricing himself out of a paycheck. Roach said Marquez has quoted an asking price of $10 Million despite losing to Bradley last October. He said he would rather Pacquiao face Marquez than Bradley because of the marketability of the fight. Roach said he’s confident Pacquiao will beat either fighter.

Roach said he didn’t want to push Pacquiao into going for a knockout. “What if Rios got lucky like Marquez did?” he said. “Manny knew what he was doing out there.” Another Pacquiao cornerman Buboy Fernandez said Roach was composed as usual. “Freddie planned it round by round,” said Fernandez. “He didn’t want to rush it. He wanted Manny to put in rounds because of his layoff. During training camp, Manny focused on his speed. There was no way Rios could beat Manny because he’s too slow.”

Roach’s chief training assistant Marvin Somodio said Pacquiao entered the ring weighing 151 pounds or six more than what he scaled at the weigh-in the morning before. In contrast, Roach said Rios ballooned to 17 pounds more. Argentinian cutman Miguel Diaz estimated Rios’ fight weight to be anywhere between 160 to 164.

Somodio said if Pacquiao fought Bradley or Marquez or even Floyd Mayweather last Sunday instead of Rios, the outcome would’ve been the same. “He would’ve beaten anyone of them,” said Somodio. “The problem is are they willing to fight Manny?”

Roach’s conditioning consultant Gavin McMillan said he laid out a workout regimen for Pacquiao to bring out his athleticism and explosiveness. The idea is not to burn him out in training camp and leave him cramping for the fight. The plan paid off handsome dividends as Pacquiao never got tired. McMillan operates the Sports Science Lab in San Juan Capistrano, California, and his list of clients includes stars in basketball, cycling, football, baseball, volleyball, soccer and tennis. Tyson Chandler is an NBA player who has worked with McMillan. McMillan called Pacquiao a phenomenal athlete.

McMillan was hired by Roach to replace Alex Ariza. He was in the corner of Miguel Cotto and Provodnikov in their last outings which they both won.  Roach, Somodio, Diaz, McMillan and Roach’s executive assistant Marie Spivey left here for Los Angeles via Taiwan last Monday.

In the Cotai Arena bill, Roach and Somodio were in the corner of China’s Ik Yang who outpointed Indonesia’s Hero Tito in a six-rounder. It was the only other corner which Roach worked as he was focused on Pacquiao. Somodio and McMillan were with Chinese star Zou Shiming for the win over Juan Toscano while Somodio and Diaz cornered for Liam Vaughan who was stopped by Dan Nazareno. Somodio was the busiest of them all, working four corners that morning.