Pacquiao: I pay no mind to Roach-de la Hoya trash talk
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/29/2008 2:15 PM
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| Pacquiao with conditioning coach Alex Ariza. (Philboxing.com/Ed de la Vega) |
Less than a week before the megabuck welterweight super fight between him and Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao distanced himself from the ongoing word war that his coach and chief trainer, Freddie Roach, has been having against the "Golden Boy."
"There has been a lot of talk in the media between Oscar and Freddie, that this is personal between them, but I don't talk about that. I just focus on my training," the Filipino boxing icon said in an article written for ESPN.com.
Pacquiao said that Roach will not be blamed should he lose after 12 rounds on the evening of December 6.
"All I know is that I would never blame my trainer for a loss," the WBC lightweight champ said.
Pacquiao reiterated his dislike for issuing harsh statements and predictions for the epic battle, which he described as the "biggest" of his life and career.
"People tell me Oscar has said things like he is going to knock me out, and that he sees this fight as personal. But I don't make predictions," he said.
He added that the multi-million dollar fight, albeit non-title, is purely business for him, nothing more.
"And it is never personal. It is never personal for me. I am doing my job. And I'm going to do it well, and I'm going to win the fight," he said.
Hatton fight possible
Meanwhile, Pacquiao said he is looking forward for a clash against Britain's Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, who defeated Paulie Malignaggi last weekend, also in Las Vegas.
"I was really inspired by watching Ricky Hatton win his fight against Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday. It was a good fight and I would like to fight Ricky Hatton. After my fight with Oscar, I will go back down to 140, which is Hatton's weight, so maybe that fight can happen," he said.
However, he clarified that the possibility of a clash with Hatton will have to wait since he wouldn't want to disturb his concentration for de la Hoya.
Pacquiao also downplayed the fact about de la Hoya's advantage (the former Olympian is four inches taller than the Filipino) in terms of height and build.
"I'm not that small. I'm 149, 150 right now and I have some time to come down to 147," he said.
Roach fires again
Pacquiao's statements about the word war between the Hall of Fame trainer and de la Hoya came after Roach took a verbal swipe againb at the Golden Boy earlier this week.
"He's going to find out that it's going to take more than dieting down to a Twiggy-like 145 pounds to beat Manny," Freddoe Roach said in a report on Philboxing.com.
Roach said that his ward, up two weight divisions from the 135-lb class, is "no cream puff".
"He (Pacquiao) is looking forward to serving Oscar his just desserts at the MGM Grand on December 6," Roach added.
The trainer's statements were in reaction to reports that said de la Hoya beat up a "Carnegie Deli cheesecake" sent by Pacquiao for Thanksgiving Day.
"I'm not too surprised Oscar was able to whip the cheesecake, look at what he did to that French pastry Patrick Charpentier back in 1998. That's his specialty," said Roach.
The coach was referring to the battle between de la Hoya and the Frenchman who had an 11-win streak tucked in his belt prior to the match with the Golden Boy. Roy Medina, abs-cbnNEWS.com
