Freddie Roach on Pacquiao vs. Algieri: ‘We’ll Knock Him Out Somewhere Along the Way’

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    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Six time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach has had a busy schedule as usual this year, and he will be closing it out as he prepares his star pupil Manny Pacquiao for his fall showdown on November 22 against the perennial underdog Chris Algieri.

    Roach, whose opinion, is often highly regarded when it comes to picking opponents for Pacquiao, really didn’t have much of a say this time around. When asked why Algieri was chosen he replied, “You have to ask Bob (Bob Arum) I have no idea why he picked that guy. He told me that he beat Ruslan, and he’s a good fight for Manny and that was it.”

    Algieri employs an accurate piston like jab that has proven to be very effective against many of his previous opponents. He may possess a style that could pose problems for the Filipino icon. Roach disagrees claiming, “No it should be no problem for Pacquiao. It’s like night and day. He’s way above him.”

    As far as a prediction for the fight Roach didn’t pick a specific round. He simply stated, “We’ll knock him out somewhere along the way.”

    Because the fight will be held in Macau, China as opposed to the United States, Roach has chosen to switch things up a bit in training camp and has elected not to use his famed Wild Card Gym in Los Angles, California. “We’ll have camp in the Philippines. In the Philippines we’re in the same time zone, so we won’t have to acclimate. Training camp will be six weeks and we’ll spend the last week in Macau,” he explained.

    Roach was asked if he believes that we’ll see the same aggressive Pacquiao that we saw against Mexican slugger Brandon Rios last November and he replied, “Well I hope so because he kicked the shit out of Rios. The problem with Rios is, he is a punching bag. It was a great win and we’ll see. Manny is coming down to a catch weight of 144 and he might be a little bit of a better punch at the lighter weight.”

    As far as the catch weight of 144 pounds playing a factor in the fight and whether or not it may favor Algieri since he is the taller, longer fighter moving up in weight and Pacquiao is the one moving down, Roach isn’t concerned. “It doesn’t matter. It is what it is, and we’re just going to get ready to fight him.”