This is the worst training camp he’s ever had with Pacquiao - Roach

The trainer Freddie Roach hasn’t been pleased with the training camp with Manny Pacquiao as he gets ready to do battle with the lanky 5’11” Antonio Margarito on November 13th. Roach hasn’t been happy with Pacquiao’s energy, his distractions in camp with basketball, long drives and Pacquiao’s problems with sparring partners.

Roach told Steve Kim from Maxboxing.com, “The thing is, there were just too many distractions. So really, we didn’t have a bad training camp. [Pacquiao] just wasn’t very consistent. Every Sunday driving to Manila, a six hour drive each way. It’s draining for a fighter. Overall, I think it’s the worst training camp we ever had, yes.”

Yes, it could be that Pacquiao, at 31, is starting to show his age and the effects of putting on weight. When you power feed a little fighter like the 5’6” Pacquiao giving him six meals a day, it’s not surprising that he’s starting to show his limits. Pacquiao has been able to find success in being carefully matched as he’s moved up in weight in the past two years, but the constant power feeding seems to have caught up with him now.

It isn’t that Pacquiao is having a poor camp because of distractions, it’s because he’s getting old and putting on weight that his little body wasn’t meant to. Obviously, Margarito, a welterweight, has been picked as Pacquiao’s opponent rather than a legitimate junior middleweight to give Pacquiao a better chance of winning another paper title.

However, it’s not going to work this time. Margarito is going to wear Pacquiao down with his aggression, size and work rate and leave him a broken, bloody mess on the canvas on November 13th.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum plans on moving Pacquiao back down to welterweight after this fight, but I still see Pacquiao having problems unless they match him up against Miguel Cotto again.

But still watch Pacquiao vs Margarito Fight to know the real action. November 13 is the date. See you!