Boxing Quotes: Manny Pacquiao, Freddie Roach, Bob Arum

Bob Arum: Manny Pacquiao is having a great training camp, as Freddie will tell you. There is excitement is Dallas. We have less than 8,000 tickets to go and I am fully confident we will have a sellout for the fight. It is very exciting for us and it should be a great, great show.

Freddie Roach: Manny Pacquiao is in great shape. We boxed 11 rounds yesterday with four different sparring partners. He is looking really good and he’s got the game plan in place. We were so sharp yesterday I almost wanted to give him a day off but Manny won’t take a day off.

We’ll spar 12 rounds on Saturday. That will be our peak day and we will taper off from there and we are heading to Dallas after training on Monday the 8th.

Manny is getting better all the time and he still wants to improve. We are getting better at making the moves. We have watched a lot of tape on Clottey. We know his characteristics, we know his mistakes and we know his habits. I do feel that the way Manny Pacquiao is training for this fight, the game plan and how to beat Clottey is in place.

I know Clottey is a big strong guy and a great fighter and we respect him and he’s a real tough guy but with Manny Pacquiao I feel that he’s going to overwhelm him with his speed and his combinations and I do believe he will be the first person to stop him before the 12th round.

Manny Pacquiao: I am good; I’m just finishing jogging and sit-ups. Training camp is good and yesterday we sparred 11 rounds then I hit the bag a couple of rounds. Everything is great. I know Clottey is taller and bigger than me. I know I can’t underestimate him because his is a
former world champion also.

Question: Fallout from Mayweather negotiations; anger?

FR: We are not happy with his [Floyd Mayweather Jr.] remarks. Manny wants to fight him in the future because of the remarks he made. Sometimes when Manny is shadowboxing, he will show me how Mayweather fights and how he will take care of the problem. I’ve never seen many do that before. He was trying to ruin our reputation with those allegations but we do want to fight him and we do want to knock him out.

BA: We will knock him out in court also. That lawsuit continues on and justice will prevail.

Q: What would you like to do better in this fight than the last?

FR: Don’t want to be on the ropes as much as we were in the Cotto fight. Clottey is very effective on the ropes and will throw uppercuts from that position. We are working on not being there when he is trying to counter-punch. Clottey likes to lay on the ropes and counter when we are finished a combination, but we’re not going to be there – he’s not going to find us.

Q: Manny, are you expecting support of the Latinos in Dallas?

MP: I am expecting a lot of Mexican fans to be at the fight.

Q: Manny, do you believe Floyd Mayweather does not want to fight you?

MP: What I believe is Floyd Mayweather is not ready at this time to fight with me. That’s why he makes the reasons to cancel the fight. I feel bad and disappointment because he is accusing me of using drugs or whatever and trying to ruin my name in boxing. People know I have been successful through God and hard work.

Maybe he is afraid of me or maybe is not ready for this fight. I am disappointed at what he is accusing me of. I really feel bad but I have no anger toward him. This is boxing. That’s his style. We cannot change that because we are different.

Q: What do you mean by Mayweather’s style?

MP: Some fighters like me we can be the greatest fighters without fast words and trash talk. His style is talking a lot of trash and it is not a good example for everybody.

Q: If your career ends without fighting Mayweather, will you be disappointed?

MP: I don’t really need Floyd Mayweather because what I have achieved in boxing is good enough for me and people know that by comparing my achievements in boxing to his achievements.

Q: Will you take full advantage of the weight limit?

FR: He [Pacquiao] will weigh in at 147 and he will go into the ring at 149, 150 max. I am not worried about his size. Size doesn’t win fights, skill does and it won’t be a problem.

Q: I have read reports this could be your last fight?

MP: This is my last fight before the election. I am not saying I’m going to retire. It is hard to say right now when I’m going to retire but this is my last fight before the election and I’m very excited about it.

BA: As far as I am concerned, he is the best fighter I have ever seen some people may or may not agree. If he decides to retire after the Clottey fight and I would hope that he wins the election and I would give him a big party to commemorate his career in the US. If he continues to fight and then retires later I would still give him a big party. To me he is the best fighter I have ever seen. You have to understand, I’m an old guy but I’ve never seen Marciano or Robinson fight in person and I can’t tell very much from watching the film. But that includes fighter like Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler.

Q: Can you tell us why you would retire after fighting Clottey?

MP: I am not saying retire. It is hard to say right now when I would retire. I am still fighting and we’ll see.

BA: He is not saying he would retire after the Clottey fight, quite the contrary. Obviously one of these days he is going to retire. After the election he may retire or he may fight. He is leaving the options open.

Q: Do you think Manny is the best?

FR: I do think Manny is the best fighter I have ever trained because from where we started to where we are now he is the most improved. His discipline and dedication is unbelievable.

Q: Would you be content if Manny never fought Floyd?

BA: I would absolutely be content.

FR: I would like to shut him up of course. Obviously he is just going to have to go by the rules. It is like saying we want to fight five-minute rounds. Commissions do that, not fighters. If you let him have his way it’s like giving away the first two rounds – it’s crazy. I do want Manny to fight him and I know Manny would knock him out and then the whole world will be happy.

MP: Yes, I’m OK. I don’t need to fight him.

Q: What type of boxer can beat you?

MP: When I get old.

Q: What about the young fighters in the world today?

MP: I always watch them and I like to see them train and give them advice. Those young fighters in Puerto Rico are good fighters.

Q: How do you feel about Miguel Cotto?

BA: I think Miguel has had a great career and he’s a fighter that has never been afraid to get in the ring with anyone. He gave Manny Pacquiao, the greatest fighter of our era and in my opinion the greatest fighter I have ever seen, he gave him hell for the first six rounds. He fought his heart out. He’s a wonderful fighter. In June he will fight for another world title against Yuri Foreman in New York. He’s had a great career and he’s been a big star. More importantly, he has matured as a person. He is a great person right now. He has a lot of businesses. I am very proud of Miguel.

Q: Is there anything that Clottey brings to the table you are anxious about?
FR: He is a very strong guy and he’s a strong puncher. His best punch is the uppercut but we will not fall into that pocket too often to let him use that shot. I do have a lot of confidence in my fighter and the reason why is the way he has been sparring. We have big strong guys that fight a lot like Clottey.

Manny has been handling them with ease in sparring. We had our best day of sparring yesterday – 11 great rounds and Manny pitched a shutout. We use four sparring partners yesterday and Manny is on top of his game and he’s got the game plan down and he’s very sharp right now. I’m happy where he’s at. I think we will overwhelm him and the fight will end before 12.

BA: March 13 is unique. People all over the world and on pay-per-view in the United States will have the opportunity to see the best fighter of our era fight a top welterweight bigger and stronger and I am looking forward to Manny Pacquiao’s performance because every single one of these performances will become part of history and we’ll see you in Dallas.