Freddie Roach will never forget the excitement Manny Pacquiao displayed the day Kobe Bryant came to Roach’s gym to meet the Filipino superstar.
Pacquiao loves basketball, has played the sport professionally and owns a team in his native country and is a huge fan of Bryant, the late Lakers legend who died January 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant visited Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in West Hollywood, California, during the fall of 2011.
Bryant’s trip to Wild Card came during an NBA lockout. Pacquiao was preparing at that time for his third fight against Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez in November 2011.
“He went crazy when Kobe came in that day,” Roach told the New York Post for a story published in Saturday’s editions. “That was unbelievable. It was the best day of his life, I think.”
Pacquiao picked Bryant’s brain about basketball. An inquisitive Bryant asked a lot of questions about Pacquiao’s training regimen.
“Manny asked him about basketball and shooting, and how to become a better player,” Roach recalled. “He’s not shy about asking questions. Manny still plays basketball every day. He has an indoor court at his house. He’s a fanatic about basketball. I know losing Kobe is a really great loss to Manny, as well as the whole world.”
Bryant was just 41, the same age as Pacquiao, at the time of that fatal helicopter crash a week ago. One of Bryant’s four daughters, 13-year-old Gianna Bryant, and seven others died in the accident.
Pacquiao expressed his sadness regarding Bryant’s death by issuing this statement through his Twitter account: The world lost a legend today but the impact and legacy he leaves behind will last forever! #RIPMamba.
Pacquiao attached a photo to that Tweet of him and Bryant from the day they met at Wild Card. Roach remembers how respectful and approachable Bryant was when he visited them in the gym.
“When Kobe came in, he was a gentleman,” Roach said. “He asked me about Manny’s training methods, and how we came up with his training camp structure and why we did things in a particular order. He was a really good guy and nice to everybody.”
Bryant retired following the 2015-16 season, his 20th in the NBA, at the age of 37.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, remains an elite boxer even at 41.
The WBA welterweight champion is expected to return to the ring either late in the spring or early in the summer. Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) hasn’t chosen an opponent, but ex-WBC champ Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs), former IBF/WBC champ Shawn Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) and unbeaten IBF/WBC champ Errol Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs) are among his options.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.