Most assumed that we’d never see Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao share the same ring; some still aren’t convinced despite the fight being formally announced last Friday.
However, those involved in the actual fight didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the fight to become official because they had to be prepared, especially the Team Pacquiao, considered the underdogs in the fight.
In fact, Freddie Roach told FightHype.com in a video that he has been preparing for Mayweather as an opponent for some time now, even though the fight was only recently announced.
Roach’s comments brought light to the fact that he’d studied Floyd in the past, but that isn’t news really because he’s said so on many different occasions in the past.
Pacquiao will have his best shot at dethroning Mayweather and stripping him of his undefeated status come fight night. This is based on the fact that his preparation will be methodically planned out by a man familiar with the “Pound for Pound” great. Roach trained Oscar De La Hoya in 2005 for his super fight with Mayweather. That fight was enormous and broke PPV records, meaning Roach won’t be fluxed by the magnitude of Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Roach is prepared to dive right into camp and tells FightHype.com that he has scouted Floyd thoroughly. So much, so that Roach says his strategy for Mayweather Jr. has evolved over the years and differs from previous assessments based on the fact that Floyd is a different fighter. But Roach says that his game plan is different because Manny is a different fighter, too.
“No, [Floyd’s] changed, my guy’s changed. It’s completely gone. I’ve changed over,” Roach told FightHype.com.
Time seems to be the biggest factor, and the aging process changes the way Roach will approach camp leading up to the Mayweather fight. He admits that the fight would’ve been more exciting if it were finalized back when both fighters were closer to their primes, but he still feels the matchup provides enough tangibles to make it worth our wait.
“They’re both getting older and that’s something we can’t get away from. So, they’re both getting older and I think the fight would’ve been much more exciting 3 years ago, but I think it’s still exciting, yes, but I don’t think it’s as great as it once was.”
