HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (November 6, 2008) – In an exclusive video interview with FoxSports.com's Mark Kriegel, two-time BWAA "Trainer of the Year" World Famous Freddie Roach, boldly predicted that his star pupil, WBC lightweight champion and boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao, would knock out Oscar De La Hoya when they meet on December 6, in a 12-round welterweight super fight.
"I'm so confident in Pacquiao in this fight...we're going to knock him out in nine rounds.," said Roach "He [Oscar] gets quite tired at normal paces. Pacquiao doesn't fight at normal paces. We're going to push the old man…I love this fight!"
Other highlights of the interview include:
Kriegel: "Will the Mexican fight fan ever truly love Oscar De La Hoya?"
Roach: "No…They [Mexican fight fans] like fighters, not boxers. When the bell rings, the Mexican fans in the audience are going to be on Pacquiao's side...The true Mexican fans love his [Pacquiao's] style."
Kriegel: "If styles make fights, then how are you going to win this one with Oscar De La Hoya?"
Roach: "Oscar can't really stand the pace of a Manny Pacquiao, fighting three minutes of every round, attacking him, putting the pressure on this guy, taking away his height and reach advantage by getting close and fighting on the inside and work that body where Oscar has been weak his whole career. And at this stage of Oscar's career, he's busted up. He's starting to break up. His face in the Forbes fight, he was all banged up after that fight. He had a broken cheekbone…and this guy [Forbes] can't even punch."
Kriegel: "How did you find out you were let go [by Oscar De La Hoya]?"
Roach: "I found out through the media that I was no longer the trainer and that he brought Floyd Sr. back and it was a little disappointing because Oscar had told me, one time, he said, 'I'll never fight without you in my corner again.' It bothered me that he couldn't tell me face to face."
souce: Philboxing.com
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