In this interview we take a different approach with the one & only Freddie Roach and pose him with some unique Manny-related questions:
BoxingInsider: What fight did Manny give his finest performance?
Freddie Roach: “There’s a lot of them. Morales II, Cotto, and Oscar.”
BoxingInsider: Not Hatton?
Freddie Roach: “Hatton was too easy. Hatton can’t fight.”
BoxingInsider: Poorest Manny fight?
Freddie Roach: “The Dominican guy. On the Mayweather undercard. Agapito Sanchez.”
BoxingInsider: Which Manny fight were you most concerned for?
Freddie Roach: “None of them. I was confident we could prepare for each fighter we faced.”
BoxingInsider: Toughest boxer you had to coach against?
Freddie Roach: “Mayweather. Style-wise, he’s the most difficult.”
BoxingInsider: How’s Pacquiao going to adapt to Mayweather’s defense?
Freddie Roach: “Depends how much Floyd runs [laughs].”
BoxingInsider: First memory of Manny?
Freddie Roach: “The day he walked into my gym. He asked me if I could be his trainer. His manager asked me to work the mitts. After one round, I went over to my guys and said, ‘Wow, can this guy fight!’ And Manny went over to his manager and said, ‘We have a new trainer.'”
BoxingInsider: Little-known fact about Manny?
Freddie Roach: “Great sense of humor. He plays jokes on people all of the time. He f**** with people all day long (laughs). Except me (laughs).”
This Q&A was made possible by special reporting from our reporter and future Kelly Pavlik biographer Kenneth Lundgren who conducted this spontaneous interview from ringside in Youngstown via blackberry between Scoop in Florida & Freddie Roach also at ringside during the undercard action of Pavlik-Espino show.