By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Freddie Roach’s decision to wear a body pad isn’t because of any fear that Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao will miss while working on the punch-mitts and get the celebrated trainer on the body. Its there for a purpose.
insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports have learned that its part of the game-plan for the “Dream Match” against “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand on December 6.
One of the planned tactics is for Pacquiao to go for De La Hoya with vicious body shots that would hopefully wear him down, enabling the Filipino southpaw to go for a possible knockout in the later rounds which Roach predicted can be done.
The manager of WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa told insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports in an overseas telephone conversation that Roach was obviously working on Pacquiao’s advantage over De La Hoya in speed, the Filipino’s youthfulness and debilitating body shots.
Billy Keane conceded that De La Hoya had the advantage in size, height and reach plus what Roach feared the most – a deadly left hook aside from a stinging jab .
He said “this is a very difficult fight for Manny because of the size.” Keane added, “Manny really needs to fight the perfect fight. He can’t make any mistakes but Oscar can make a bunch of mistakes and still win.”
But Keane gave Pacquiao “a fighting chance” because of his heart and his determination.
In his widely-read column in the tabloid Abante which is also carried by philboxing.com, Pacquiao said he was “super excited” about the upcoming fight with De La Hoya.
Pacquiao wrote. “I feel good and training camp has been running smoothly so far. Everyone in my team is inspired and everything is turning out well.” He said trainer Freddie Roach saw his dedication in training and his solid preparation for the De La Hoya fight.
Pacquiao said he won’t put on additional weight and bloat up because he doesn’t want to lose one of his advantages which is his speed. He said Roach had made it clear that fans and friends were not allowed in the gym during training because they were “ working on new techniques to prevent De La Hoya from using his physical advantages or fall into any trap” his opponent might set"
Pacquiao said training camp was “ fun and coach Freddie was perfecting tactics we never used before since we first worked together some seven years ago.” Roach handled Pacquiao for less than two weeks before he demolished Lelohonolo Ledwaba in six rounds to win the IBF super bantamweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao said “ I am very happy that coach Freddie has pointed out to me Oscar Dela Hoya's strengths and weaknesses and in just one week, we are already trying to perfect a fighting system that we will use against this legendary fighter. “
Pacquiao added , “Of course, I cannot reveal our plans on how to beat Dela Hoya. I am really confident that our chances of winning gets revealed to me easy and already analyzed since Roach trained De La Hoya and he knows his strengths and weaknesses.”
He conceded there lots of work to be done because this is not an easy fight and we know what the stakes are. He said he was inspired by the fact that people didn’t see the fight as a mismatch and he believes he’s got a big chance of winning.
