WATCH: Roach's honest analysis of Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight

Although he will be working in Manny Pacquiao’s corner on May 2 (May 3 in Manila), Freddie Roach gave a straight-from-the-heart analysis of his valued fighter’s chances against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Roach, who has been Pacquiao’s trainer since his title-winning performance against Lehlo Ledwaba for the IBF super bantamweight belt in June 2001, broke down the heavily-hyped showdown into nine categories, which are power, speed, footwork, stamina, ring I.Q., heart, chin, experience and x-factor. The seven-time BWAA “Trainer of the Year” awardee believes Pacquiao has the leverage in punching power as the Filipino boxer has scored 38 knockouts out of his 57 victories.

On the other hand, the unbeaten American fighter has gone the distance in 21 of his 47 wins.“His punching power is really, really great. Floyd doesn’t have a long list of knockouts, and he has more decision wins. Manny is much better puncher,” Roach told Fight Hub TV. However, Roach surprised the interviewer when he stressed that Mayweather is faster than Pacquiao, who is recognized for his busy pace in the ring. “We are talking about movement, not just hand speed. I think he is more than a runner than Manny Pacquiao,” he stated. Even though he gave the speed advantage to Mayweather, Roach asserted that Pacquiao’s footwork could offset his opponent’s quickness as the 36-year-old southpaw’s feet allow him to move in all angles.


“Manny uses his footwork in-and-out and side-to-side. His opponents always try to guess where he is coming,” he said. “Mayweather has never seen this kind of speed before.” Meanwhile, the 55-year-old boxing coach has a draw when it comes to stamina as both pugilists have never appeared to lose their steams in all of their bouts. “These are dedicated people who train really hard. Manny is a machine. It’s the same with Mayweather,” Roach mentioned. In the “Ring I.Q.” category, Roach awarded it to Mayweather, who rose to stardom with his distinctive brand of defensive guile and ring generalship. “He is a little smarter and more experience to me,” he quipped. Despite Mayweather’s in-ring intelligence, Roach sided with his treasured pupil in terms of showing heart inside the squared-circle. “He has the biggest heart in the world. He will die trying. Look what he’s gone through his life just to survive,” he shared. Roach immediately switched his stance, suggesting that Mayweather has a durable chin that has been tested by several hard-hitting boxers such as Marcos Maidana, Miguel Cotto, Arturo Gatti and Jose Luis Castillo. In addition, Mayweather was only knocked down once in his career when he broke his right hand during the 12-round junior lightweight title tilt against Carlos Hernandez in May 2001 and then went down in pain after being caught off-balance by a glancing punch in round 6. On the opposite end, Pacquiao has been knocked out 3 times and has been dropped to the canvas on 8 occasions. “Manny has been shot a couple of times, and Mayweather hasn’t. I think we should give him a benefit of a doubt because even though he may not get hit that much, you could get hit along the way,” Roach pointed out. Roach also agreed that Mayweather has more experience than Pacquiao due to his stellar amateur boxing run and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics stint. “He won a lot of amateur fights and went to the Olympics to win a bronze medal,” he said. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Roach affirmed that Pacquiao has the ability to set the tone of the marquee match-up. “Manny Pacquiao has the left hand, and he is very dangerous. When he hits you with that, the fight will be over,” he ended.

Sylvester Stallone visits Manny Pacquiao at Wild Card

After going against Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in his fight with an American boxer in November last year, Sylvester Stallone has learned his lesson and is now rooting for the Filipino boxing icon. Best remembered for his mega-hit “Rocky” series, Stallone visited Pacquiao during his training at Wild Card Gym on Saturday afternoon (Sunday in Manila). e man who played the ultimate boxing underdog in the movies stopped by to visit a man looking to beat the odds on May 2. Sylvester Stallone, who brought boxing to its cinematic height through the Rocky films, stopped by to visit Manny Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym as he trains for his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Stallone watched as Pacquiao punched the mitts with trainer Freddie Roach, and even got around the rumored "No Selfie" rule with the 8-division boxing champion.

Relive the moment in these photos by Top Rank's Chris Farina. Still fit and sprightly at 68 years old, Stallone was accorded the privilege of watching Pacquiao spar for 12 rounds against two partners. He left convinced that Pacquiao deserved his support. Pacquiao has been tagged the underdog in his much-awaited collision with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Though he liked Pacquiao as a ring warrior, Stallone threw his support behind the unheralded Chris Algieri in their showdown in Macau last year. As it turned out, however, Algieri proved to be no match for Pacquiao, who sent the New Yorker down to the canvas six times en route to a lopsided unanimous decision. On his way out of the Wild Card parking lot, Stallone, driving his Mercedes Benz, stopped briefly, rolled down the car windows, and obliged for a quick chat with Philippine journalists. Asked about how Pacquiao fared (in sparring), Stallone replied: “He’s the best, he’s the best.” On whether Pacquiao could beat Mayweather, Stallone muttered, “Of course, of course.” Then Stallone, also noted for his “Rambo” series, stepped on the gas and left. Stallone thus joined the celebrities who have paid Pacquiao a visit in the course of his preparation for the fight with Mayweather. Actors Mark Wahlberg, Liam Neeson, Robert Duvall, NBA great Karl Malone and UFC superstar Ronda Rousey earlier paid homage to Pacquiao.

He won't survive against shark-like Pacquiao - Freddie Roach

Floyd Mayweather's latest video doing drills in a swimming pool is an indication of him knowing that Manny Pacquiao will take him into deep water on May 2 (May 3 PHL time), according to Freddie Roach. "Sounds like we should start calling him Floyd “Flipper” Mayweather," said Pacquiao's Hall of Fame trainer.

“Team Mayweather would be wise to add a lifeguard to their corner on fight night because Manny is taking ‘Mr. 47 and 1’ into deep water." Pacquiao's former conditioning coach Alex Ariza was also seen in Mayweather's pool training session, which the fighter posted on social media. But according to Roach, no amount of training will save the unbeaten pound-for-pound king from his top pupil when they finally meet inside the ring. "Swimming lessons or whatever he thinks he is doing will not help him survive the shark-infested waters he will be entering on May 2."