Pacquiao-Khan showdown is possible: Arum

A bout between former sparring partners Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan is possible for 2016, according to Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum.

Khan, who was snubbed by unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a September 12 fight date, has turned his attention to Pacquiao, his former stable mate back when they were both trained by Freddie Roach.

"If he (Mayweather) is not going to man up and fight me, then I'll have to fight Manny Pacquiao or someone like that," Khan said in a recent interview. "I really believe that fight can be made easily. I think Manny is a man and he would definitely take that fight."

In an interview with The Telegraph, Arum said he can make it happen.

"This kid, Amir Khan, keeps shooting his mouth off about Manny Pacquiao," he said. "I can arrange for Khan to fight Pacquiao."

"Amir Khan has been begging Mayweather for a fight, and now he can get a major fight. I'm not a hard guy to deal with. I'm not going to mess them around," he added.

But Arum made it clear that the fight can't happen in 2015 as Pacquiao is still recovering from the shoulder injury that he sustained while training for his May 2 "Fight of the Century" against Mayweather. It can be held next year in the Middle East, said the promoter.

"He'll fight early next year, and probably in the Middle East. Vegas is a possibility, but more likely in the Middle East. It won't be in Dubai, but it will be in the Middle East. If not, we'll do it in Vegas," said Arum.

One thing that Arum is sure of is that Pacquiao will win against Khan.

"It's a good fight. Manny beats him, though, in my opinion," he said. "Manny is getting up in age, so you never know what's going to happen. But I think he hits too hard for Khan."

Arum does feel that Khan should have been given the chance to fight Mayweather, and is disappointed that the unbeaten American chose Andre Berto as his opponent.

"That's a farce," Arum said of the Mayweather-Berto match-up. "Mayweather should have fought Khan next. It would have been an interesting fight."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Roach says Floyd will go down in 9

MANILA, Philippines - Boxing coach Freddie Roach is aware that his fighter will be coming in as the underdog in their upcoming mega fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. this weekend.

But Roach isn't worried about Manny Pacquiao being the underdog, noting that his fighter has been in similar situations before.

"We are definitely underdogs and we love being the underdogs going into the fight. We're making a little extra money at the window and I love that when I'm an underdog," the 7-time Boxing Coach of the Year said in an interview with CBS Detroit.

Roach is sensing a stoppage victory by Pacquiao in the latter rounds and he explained why.

"I do think we'll knock him out in about the 9th round. We'll break him down in the body," said the boxing trainer.

One big reason for this confidence is that Roach believes Pacquiao has regained his old punching power.

"Manny hit the mitts the other day, he hit me with a couple of hard shots. I said, 'Are you really gonna hit your opponent that hard?' He said, 'Yes.' That's the best thing I've ever heard," Roach said.

Roach has been repeatedly criticized by Mayweather Sr. for supposedly being a "Joke Coach." The father of the unbeaten American even came up with a poem making fun of Roach.

"Freddie Roach is a joke, blowing smoke with no hope," Mayweather Sr. said.

But Roach said the joke is on Team Mayweather.

"His poems are a bit stupid, I don't do poems," he said. "The thing is, he's never beat me [in coaching] and he will never will. Ask him that question. Not once."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao-Floyd fight 'will be won or lost on the ropes'

The ropes will play a vital part in the mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., according to the Filipino boxer's trainer, Hall-of-Famer Freddie Roach.

"The fight will be won and lost on the ropes," Roach told Daily Mail in a recent interview. "If Mayweather goes to the ropes and tries to rest his legs, he will get beat."

Roach has repeatedly expressed his belief that Mayweather's legs are betraying him, and this is the reason the American has been forced to go toe-to-toe with his previous opponents rather than evade them as he would have done.

"It's about outscoring (Mayweather)," said Roach. "If he sits on the ropes, we can outscore him. If he stays in the middle of the ring and boxes all the time, he could possibly outscore us."

The fight is expected to be a clash of styles between Mayweather's defensive wizardry and Pacquiao's unorthodox offense, and Roach is confident that the "Pacman" can impose his will against the unbeaten American.

"He trains harder than any fighter I have ever had in my life," Roach said. "I have had 33 world champions, and nobody can touch him for his work ethic. His attitude is good."

Some boxing pundits, and even boxers and trainers themselves, have said that the fight may be five years too late, but Roach disagrees.

"It's a better fight today than it was five years ago, because they were both a lot faster and more mobile five years ago," he explained.

"It might have been more of a boxing match (then), but now, they're a little bit older. It's going to be a better fight," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao back in practice after one-day rest

LOS ANGELES – After a rest day, Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao was back in the ring Wednesday, hitting the mitts for 12 rounds.

"Maganda pala 'yun. (I'm) hungry, the fire is there. It's good. Happy ako sa training," said the "Pacman."

"I thought he was overdoing it a little bit, so we had a day off," chief trainer Freddie Roach explained. "Today, we opened the gates, and he kicked my a**. I must have gotten hit with a thousand and two punches today."

While a re-energized Pacquiao is happily back in the ring, his May 2 opponent, Floyd Mayweather Jr., is literally putting his money where his mouth is.

TMZ released photos of Mayweather's custom-made mouth guards, which reportedly costs $25,000. Some of the mouth guards have a real hundred dollar bill stuffed in it.

"Who really cares?" said Roach. "Mouthpieces protect your mouth. Who cares how much it costs? I can go to the 7-11 and get one for two bucks."

"Hopefully it will protect his teeth," said Pacquiao's publicist, Fred Sternburg. "I'm not sure if it will help with his chin."

Pacquiao, for his part, was not too concerned.

"That's his style," he said. "We know the truth; we know the right way. We know how to obey God."

As reports continue to show Mayweather's lavish expenses – including a $300,000 party bus – the boxer has also been showing his pre-fight preparations.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacquiao: Roach thinks I play better hoops than Floyd

MANILA – Boxing promoter Bob Arum wasn’t pleased after learning that Manny Pacquiao played during KIA Sorento’s PBA debut against Blackwater Elite despite having an upcoming fight on November 22.

He said that a single misstep inside the court could have jeopardized the pay-per-view event. If the fight doesn't happen, it will mean losses for those who have invested in the fight.

“Well, I found out that he was playing before he played and I was not a very happy camper. Professional basketball, no matter the country where it is played, is a rugged sport and a player can turn an ankle very, very easily. These players in the NBA are fantastic physical specimens and yet they get injured all the time. An injury would have really wreaked havoc on the fight so I was not very pleased,” Arum said in the media conference call promoting Pacquiao’s fight against Chris Algieri.

The conference call held in General Santos City on Thursday was attended by Pacquiao, his coach Freddie Roach, and Arum.

But Arum said he was assured by Team Pacquiao it would be his last game before taking on the 5’10” Algieri.

“Manny has assured Freddie and Freddie has assured me that that’s it. After he does the fight on November 22nd, if he wants to try out for the New York Knicks, that’s OK with me,” he said.

Pacquiao, for his part, reasoned out that playing hoops does not have a negative impact on his training at all.

He said basketball serves as his cross training and therefore helps him improve his conditioning and footwork for the fight.

“It does not affect my training because basketball is on Sunday and we do not train on Sunday. Basketball is also good for footwork and balancing. It helps a lot and that is why I am always in shape when I don’t have a fight because I am always playing basketball,” said the fighting congressman, who is now also a basketball playing coach.

“Basketball provides me with great cross-training.”

Arum admitted that he could not stop the boxing star from playing basketball. He, however, said he trusts Pacquiao will stick to his promise to stay away from hoops until fight night.

“Some of our fighters are motorcycle guys and did a lot of crazy things so there we definitely put it in the contract. But with Manny, you are absolutely right. We have a different kind of relationship, one built on a mutual respect and mutual trust and so we wouldn’t put it in the contract because of the fact we feel he will do the right thing,” he said.

Just like Pacquiao, his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. plays basketball, too. He was even quoted that he could have made it to the NBA if he took the game seriously.

When asked who’s the better ball player, Pacquiao said he trusts Roach’s appraisal.

“I don’t want to say myself,” he said while laughing. “But Freddie said [It’s] me.”

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Roach to bring Algieri-like sparmates for Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing coach Freddie Roach will be arriving in the Philippines on Wednesday to prepare Manny Pacquiao for his title defense against tall undefeated boxer Chris Algieri in November.

Roach will be bringing along two tall fighters who are in the mold of Algieri, according to Ronnie Nathanielsz in a report on Philboxing.

Stan “The Man” Martyniouk, an Estonian native, stands 5-foot-10, while Ukrainian Viktor Postol towers at 5-foot-11.

They are expected to mimic Algieri’s style to give Pacquiao a feel of what he will be up against on November 23.

Both boxers have good credentials and are anticipated to test the eight-division champion.

Martyniouk, who recently sparred with Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, is a bronze medalist in the 2007 Golden Gloves championships. Postol, on the other hand, is the unbeaten WBC light welterweight Silver champion.

The two fighters will help Pacquiao prepare against Algieri, who stands at 5-foot-10 and implements a boxer-counterpuncher style.

Pacquiao is currently busy working on his conditioning, which will be very important come fight time, according to strength coach Justine Fortune.

"As far as his condition, he's in shape," Fortune said, while overseeing Pacquiao's training in General Santos City "He always maintains good condition because of his basketball, and he's always doing something."

"We'll be in shape, we'll be in great shape for Algieri," said Fortune. "We have to be, because Algieri will be in good shape. If anything, he's in great condition, so we'll be the same.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com