Freddie Roach Expects "Fair Fight" From Judges

By Keith Idec

LAS VEGAS – Based on another fight Manny Pacquiao suspiciously lost at MGM Grand to a welterweight who was unbeaten at the time, Freddie Roach would be well within reason to be pessimistic about judges getting it right if Pacquiao-Mayweather goes to the scorecards Saturday night.

Even after the Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley debacle in June 2012, Roach is confident judges Burt Clements, Glenn Feldman and Dave Moretti will score Pacquiao’s welterweight fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. accurately if 12 rounds are completed at MGM Grand. Pacquiao’s Hall-of-Fame trainer thinks the spotlight is too bright for judges with respectable resumes to score the fight wrong.

“If somebody gets caught favoring somebody else or cheating or mis-scoring, they’re going to be in a lot of trouble,” Roach said. “This is the biggest fight in the world. There’s no room for mistakes. That’s why I think the referee and the judges will give us a fair fight.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.