Roach wants US fight for Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao’s next fight should be staged in the US, not in Macau as originally planned, if trainer Freddie Roach would have his way.

In a report by Michael Woods of thesweetscience.com, Roach argued that Pacquiao would still earn more fighting in the US than elsewhere.

“They talk about fighting in China. If these big fights happen, they gotta move because (Juan Manuel) Marquez, Ruslan (Provodnikov), those are big fights in America, and on pay-per-view,” the bespectacled trainer explained.

Pacquiao saw action in Macau last November, dominating Brandon Rios in a bout that drew mediocre pay-per-view numbers. The fighting congressman is scheduled to return to the same Asian gambling capital on Nov. 23, his opponent still being finalized.

Pacquiao could end up facing Marquez, Provodnikov, Luis Abregu, Danny Garcia or Amir Khan, and most likely won’t even care where the duel takes place.

Roach, meanwhile, doubts the marketability of another Pacquiao show in Macau compared to one held in the US.

“Even (a fight with) Danny Garcia, I don't think that would go from China,” he added.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum cited Macau’s friendlier tax rates compared to those in Las Vegas, where the Filipino icon fought most of his high-profile bouts. But the significant gap in the time zone between Macau and the US is taking a toll on pay-per-view sales, as evidenced by the Rios fight, which raked in just under 500,000 buys.

Roach, for his part, hopes they would eventually settle with a US fight.

“I think they would bring it to America, depending on the opponent. If a China fight does come off, with a high quality, tough fight against Ruslan, they don't know who Ruslan is over there,” he further said.

But everything is still up to Arum and Pacquiao himself.