MANILA, Philippines — Bob Arum wasn’t surprised to hear that Manny Pacquiao is cutting ties with longtime trainer Freddie Roach – either temporarily or for good.
Pacquiao and Roach rank very high on the list of great boxer-trainer relationships, one that spanned nearly 17 years, leading to world titles in multiple divisions.
Other great ones are those of Muhammad Ali and Angelo Dundee, Oscar dela Hoya and Emmanuel Steward, Juan Manuel Marquez and Nacho Beristain, and the Mayweathers’.
“It’s up to him,” Arum told The STAR after ESPN broke news that Pacquiao has officially decided to do it without Roach for his July 15 bout with Lucas Matthysse.
Pacquiao’s training for his first fight since July last year will be supervised by Buboy Fernandez, his lifelong friend.
There’ve been other huge breakups in boxer-trainer relationships, that of Mike Tyson and Kevin Rooney. Even the Mayweathers broke up once and then reunited.
Dela Hoya fired Steward as well, also following a long on-and-off relationship.