Ni Gilbert Espeña
Hindi lamang si Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao ang kumbinsidong niluto siya sa laban kay dating pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. noong Mayo 2, 2015 sa MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nagsalita na rin si Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach na sinabing matapos ang laban ay maraming lumapit sa kanya na boxing fans at sinabing ang tatlong hurado lamang ng sagupaan ang naniniwalang nagwagi si Mayweather na walang ginawa kundi tumakbo, yumakap at gawin ang lahat ng panggugulang kay Pacquiao.
Sa panayam ng Boxingscene.com, iginiit ni Roach na payag siyang sanayin muli si Pacquiao kung magbabalik sa boksing si Mayweather para sa isang rematch.
“I would like to see him [Pacquiao] fight Floyd one more time because I think he can do a much better job this time. He thought he won the fight,” giit ni Roach. “I’d like to get that [fight] one more time myself. I know he can fight a much better fight. I didn’t watch the fight because I was a little disappointed.”
Ayaw niyang muling panoorin ang laban lalo’t mismong ang boxing fans na nanood sa sagupaan ang nagsabing nilutong Macao ng tatlong hurado ang laban.
“Thing is, I had more people walking out the arena telling me we got robbed,” diin ni Roach. “I think Manny was aggressive enough and dominant enough. After the fourth round he told me ‘I can’t use my shoulder anymore’, so I told him do the best he can and he did the best he can. It was a close fight. He felt he won the fight. I have to re-watch it to be honest with you to give you an opinion if we won or not.”
Hahamunin ni Pacquiao si WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley sa Abril 9 sa MGM Grand kung saan inihayag ng Pinoy boxer na magiging huling laban na niya ito bago ituon ang atensiyon sa pulitika.
“Seeing that he is running for senator, yes [I think this will be his last fight],” paliwanag ni Roach. “Being a senator is much more time consuming. So if he wins, he’ll likely be in line for President. He’s helped boxing a lot. He’s done everything he could.”
Ngunit hinulaan ng trainer na sa sobrang laki ng paggastos nina Mayweather at Pacquiao ay posible pa rin ang rematch ng dalawang boksingero.
“I did ask Bob [Arum] if that was a possibility and he doesn’t think so,” ani Roach. “But the way that they both spend money, maybe they will fight again. Someone called me the other day and said, ‘Floyd just bought a $1.1 million watch.’ I says, ‘Yeah. Why are you telling me that? I don’t really care about that stuff too much.’ And Manny’s running for senator, and that’s gonna cost him a lot of money to become senator.”
“I would tell him to maybe try to get that Mayweather fight back one more time. That fight really bothers me. I haven’t even watched it again because I’m just so pissed off about the first one, because I thought Manny could’ve won that fight much easier than he did,” dagdag ni Roach. “Manny thought he won the fight anyway. But I think he could’ve done a lot more. But when he came back after the fourth round and said, ‘My shoulder’s shot,’ I said, ‘Well, do the best you can.’ He still thinks he won the fight, but I don’t. And I would like to get that one back, yes.”