by T.K. Stewart
 
Freddie Roach, trainer of champions and trainer of Manny Pacquiao, says he is going to close the doors of his famous gym in order to concentrate exclusively on the task of training the Philippines' favorite son for his December 6th battle against Oscar De La Hoya.  
 
"Once the press tour is done, the gym is closing down," said Roach.  "I'm closing the doors and I'm just going to concentrate on the Pacquiao fight and we're going to be well prepared for this fight."  
 
Roach is taking such a drastic step in order to devote all of his time and attention to making sure there are no distractions for what will be the most important fight of Manny Pacquiao's life.  Roach says that without the legions of loyal fans that crowd the gym and all want a piece of Manny's time, that it will help both trainer and fighter remain focused on the task at hand.
 
Freddie, now on a nation wide press tour to promote the fight, loves his fighter's chances in December. 
 
"Pacquiao can definitely win the fight," says Roach.  "I would never take a fight that my guy didn't have a chance of winning.  Oscar had trouble with Stevie Forbes and Forbes is a blown-up, 130-pounder also - and people may say that about Pacquiao -  but Manny is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world today and he has what it takes."
 
Roach says that the fight will be all about speed and that the gameplan to upset De La Hoya will be to pepper him and move out of range before Oscar has a chance to return fire.
 
"How we are going to win this fight is that we're not going to put a lot of weight on and use our strength," said Roach. "It's speed is how you win this fight.  We have a great strategy and I know Oscar's weaknesses and we're going to take advantage of it."
 
Roach also said that working with Oscar as his trainer for the ill-fated attempt to beat Floyd Mayweather, Jr. gives he and Manny what he termed a "Huge" advantage.
 
"I know Oscar pretty well, even though I only worked with him for eight weeks," said Roach.  "But I learned a lot about Oscar, I know what he is capable of and what his faults are.  So we're going to really take advantage of that.  I've got three guys lined up, really good guys (for sparring).  Guys like Oscar with good left hands, good left hooks and tall.  We're going to win this fight, believe me."  
 
But Roach still came back to how much faster Manny is than Oscar.  
 
"That's the problem he has, he's not going to be able to deal with the speed, I feel," he says of Oscar.  "Like when I fought Hector Camacho, I thought I could deal with the speed.  I got fast sparring partners and so forth, but you really don't realize how fast a guy is until you get in there.  Manny's one of those guys, he's a lot faster than people think and he hits really hard."
 
When asked what Manny will be like fighting as a welterweight for the first time, Roach didn't seem at all concerned.
 
"He has good pop.  He's not going to be a great puncher at 147, Oscar is a bigger guy, of course. But the thing is, Manny will be effective and we will break this guy down."
 
Roach, as he has said in the past, still sees a big problem for De La Hoya to make 147 pounds.
 
"I definitely think it is going to be a problem for Oscar.  And believe me, there is millions of dollars at stake for every pound he is over," says Roach.  "But you know what?  If he doesn't make weight there is no fight because I got to protect my fighter.  I'm here to win this fight and he must make weight. He signed the contract for 147 and he better make the weight.  His last fight was a contract of 150, he came in at 151, he couldn't even make 150 and they gave him the pound.  I'm not going to give him anything, because again, I've got to protect my fighter.    Every ounce that he has to lose is going to be an advantage for us."
 
And Roach's final message for those who doubt Manny will win?
 
"I've been with Pacquiao for seven years now.  I know what he is capable of.  The thing is, I'm not saying it's going to be an easy fight, I'd be fooling myself.  It's going to be a really tough fight, I know, but the thing is I know Manny can pull this one off and we're going to work really hard for it." 
  
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