By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Teddy Atlas and Freddie Roach didn’t even acknowledge each other Thursday during the brief time the training adversaries awkwardly shared a small interview room inside Madison Square Garden.

Moments earlier, Roach made it clear that he doesn’t think adding Atlas as his trainer will make much a difference for Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) when Bradley boxes Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) for the third time April 9 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View). Roach doesn’t consider Bradley’s first fight with Atlas in his corner, a ninth-round technical knockout of Brandon Rios, an accurate indication of Atlas’ work with Bradley because Rios (33-3-1, 24 KOs) wasn’t properly prepared for their Nov. 7 fight in Las Vegas.

“It’s a good story,” Roach, Pacquiao’s longtime trainer, said of the Atlas-Bradley partnership before a press conference to promote their fight. “He’s a good storyteller between rounds. I don’t know what the f*** that has to do with boxing, though. I mean, firemen and sh*t like that. It doesn’t impress me, never has. He did it with Michael Moorer also. He sat him down and said, ‘So, you want me to fight for you? Your son’s on the phone. You’re embarrassing him.’

“I mean, I don’t really think that’s motivating your fighter. I would rather give my fighter direction and tell him what he has to do to change to win the fight. But again, we’re not the best of friends. I don’t know think he’s gonna help anything. In my opinion, he’s not gonna be able to. I’m not gonna give him credit for what he had in front of him in his last fight anyway, because that guy wasn’t there to fight. It’s the first time I saw [Rios] fat and out of shape. But if he looks good against Manny, then maybe I have to give him credit, yes.”

Roach reiterated that he feels Atlas doesn’t like him because Roach became former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer’s trainer after Atlas. The International Boxing Hall of Fame trainer also made it clear that the feeling is mutual.

“I’ve never faced Teddy before,” Roach said. “I just had some words with him when he quit with Michael Moorer. He got a little pissed off. I don’t know. He quit and then he beat up John Davimos [Moorer’s manager]. And then he looked at me, and I said, ‘I’m not John Davimos.’ … Again, I’m not his biggest fan. I don’t have a lot of good things to say. He’s had two champions, I think, in his career, Michael Moorer and the kid from Rhode Island, [Vinny] Pazienza, at the end of his career. But, you know, if he can help him, it’ll be good for Bradley maybe. But I have Manny Pacquiao and I think Manny’s just a better fighter. And we will win this one, too.”

Atlas told BoxingScene.com earlier this month that his criticisms of Roach during ESPN broadcasts weren’t personal in nature, but based on his honest assessments. Roach seemingly disagrees.

“He doesn’t talk too kindly of me on ESPN sometimes and so forth,” Roach said. “But, you know, that’s his opinion. But I just don’t know why he got so mad at me for taking Michael Moorer over, because it wasn’t like he got fired. He quit. But again, there’s a lot [made of] the fireman story [between rounds during the Bradley-Rios fight]. It was funny, I guess. I don’t know.”

While Atlas was credited for bettering Bradley, Roach didn’t notice much improvement.

“It was really hard to tell,” Roach said. “He didn’t have much in front of him. But hopefully [Atlas] can make him a better fighter, and maybe he can come up with a different strategy. He’ll definitely have a different strategy and I am watching that one tape more than the rest to see what kind of changes he’s trying to make and what to expect when Manny fights him.”

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.