Trainers Floyd Mayweather Sr., Freddie Roach exchange verbal jabs before Pacquiao-Hatton

In preparation for the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton junior welterweight championship fight May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, feuding trainers Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Freddie Roach continue to slug it out for the best pound-for-pound title in their profession.

It's almost as much fun as the matchup in the ring.

The bad blood got spilled again in the pre-fight media gatherings leading up to "The Battle of East and West" on HBO pay-per-view ($49.95) next month.

A special four-tier trophy standing more than 5 feet tall, with the inscription "No. 1 Pound for Pound Best Trainer in the World," was unveiled Monday at a Hollywood red-carpet news conference to promote the fight. It prompted both trainers to up the ante in their long-raging war of words.

As usual, Mayweather, of Grand Rapids, belittled Roach.

"They've got Roach in the hall of fame. He should be in the hall of shame," he told the international media. "Let's tell the truth like it is: You see Freddie Roach training and you see me training, it's night and day. Don't even compare. Don't even come close. Freddie Roach is a joke. And that's why I say his name is Freddie 'The Joke Coach' Roach, as far as I'm concerned.

Roach didn't hesitate to fire back.

He, after all, recently was named 2008 Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America -- for an unprecedented third time.

"Floyd can read some good poems. That he's all good at that I know of. What has Floyd Sr. achieved? His son's a natural-born fighter. His brother, Roger, trained him anyway. Floyd never trained his son for a world title fight," he said. "He tells me he's the greatest (trainer), but what has he done?

"He trained Oscar De La Hoya after Oscar has already won four world titles," he added, for emphasis. "Floyd is a legend in his own mind."

The feud flared up again during a private media luncheon.

The animosity between the rival trainers stems from when De La Hoya fired Mayweather in 2007 and hired Roach to prepare him for a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

A transcript of their latest verbal exchange Monday, captured by Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, appeared on BoxingScene.com. Some of the highlights:

Mayweather Sr.: My man is all those good things we were talking about. And then you went over to Freddie 'The Joke Coach' Roach.

Roach: Please change that. Get a new line. That one's old.

Mayweather Sr.: It's old Freddie, but it's got to be used because you is a roach. You is a joke, Roach.

Roach: You were the greatest. Just shut up.

Mayweather Sr.: Freddie, don't get upset. We are all just here talking. I know I get up under your skin, don't worry about it.

Roach: Can I borrow some of your rings?

Mayweather Sr.: You can buy them. Sure you can.

Roach: I can't afford them.

Mayweather Sr.: You can't afford them? We both (got) a lot of money. Is that what you're trying to say. It's like the stupid thing you said before. You are in the Hall of Fame. No, you belong in the hall of shame.

Roach: I'm in the hall of fame. Are you?

Mayweather Sr.: I have to stand up when I hear a guy like you is in the hall of fame. You have to be joking me. Everybody knows that you are a joke. You know that you don't belong in the hall of fame. You know the old guy that died, Eddie Futch. I'm saying that because you didn't get in the hall of fame yourself.

Roach: Why aren't you (in there)?

Mayweather Sr.: You didn't get in the hall of fame yourself. You don't know nothing. We all know that you're punch drunk anyway.

Roach: And you're not? And you're not?

The report concludes with Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, interrupting the affair: "Alright, we are going to put that on the undercard."

Hilarious stuff.

Perhaps more entertaining is what'll happen if Hatton defeats Pacquiao and lures Mayweather Jr. out of retirement for a rumored megafight in November.

Imagine the verbal sparring match between trainers Floyd Mayweather Sr. and his estranged brother, Roger, who replaced him in corner and helped guide "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather's rise to the title of pound-for-pound king.

If that happens, it'll be a Mayweather three-for-all leading up to that contest.

Source: http://www.mlive.com/boxing/index.ssf/2009/04/trainers_floyd_mayweather_sr_f.html

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PACQUIAO ENTERS 5TH WEEK OF TRAINING (WITH PHOTOS)

Los Angeles, CA.:- As promised, here is my Wednesday report from the Pacquiao training camp at the Wildcard Gym.

I purposely got to the gym a whole lot earlier just so I can catch up with the training of Gerry Penalosa who comes to the Wildcard Gym way ahead of the Pacman.

Gerry came in at exactly 11:30am and immediately got on with the business of getting ready for his April 25th date with Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico.

With 24 days still to go before that fateful day, Gerry is already looking very sharp. In fact, one of the pundits at the gym stated that he looks so ready that he can fight even if his match with Lopez is done tomorrow.

Gerry sparred four rounds with a Filipino-American boxer they called Diamond.

He is a 130 pounder and had been boxing for six years and taller than Penalosa.

The young man gave a good account of himself but of course he was no match for the defensive strategist in Penalosa. He managed to sneak in a few good right hooks but he ate a lot of leather in return.

Then the Pacman came in way pass two o’clock. Apparently, he run up the hills of Griffith Park earlier in the morning and didn’t have time to get ready in time. Besides, he apparently wanted to finish some business before he came to the gym.

But as soon as he got to the gym, which incidentally was cleared out of people not connected to the Team and to HBO by security chief Rob Peters, he proceeded to the dressing room to changed.

His initial tasks were stretching exercises with Alex Ariza to get him warmed up.

Following that procedure which lasted about 20 minutes, he donned his sparring gloves assisted by Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri and climbed up the ring to do the punch mitts with Freddie Roach.

What was supposed to be a 10 round deal turned out to be 12 at first, then Pacquiao asked for more so they ended up doing 16 rounds.

All during the procedure, they were strategizing and rehearsing their battle plans in anticipation of what Ricky Hatton and Mayweather will come up on May 2nd.

Then the Pacman went on to do the single and the double speed bags followed by shadow boxing and the rest of the usual routine.

The crew from HBO’s 24/7 filmed the whole training regimen of Pacquiao.

After Pacman was done, Dennis Laurente of the Elorde Gym in Paranaque came up to do his thing. He was ably assisted by Buboy Fernandez with the punch mitts.

Bernabe Concepcion came along too. Although his fight with Steven Luevano has been called off, Concepcion appears upbeat and continued to do his part. “I am hoping they will find another fighter,” he said to this writer. “The promoter tells me that we should know in a week or two,” he added.

Concepcion worked with Freddie Roach and it was amazing to see Roach do some more punch mitts with him almost right after the grueling 16 rounds with Pacquiao. Truly, the man is a work-horse and a marvelous trainer.

Also spotted on the ring sweating it out were Bobby Pacquiao and Rodel Mayol.

Both of them indicated that they have no immediate schedules but they are keeping in shape just in case something comes along.

A couple of large boxes of shoes and training outfits, jackets and t-shirts were delivered to the gym. A quick perusal of the stuff revealed that the brand name was different from the usual ones we see with Team Pacquiao. But just the same, they were gifts to the Team and they were graciously accepted.

Also spotted at the Wildcard Gym today was the basketball varsity team from the University of the East headed by Coach Lawrence Chongson. They are in town to do a basketball camp in the San Fernando Valley area and then will compete against other teams in Las Vegas in about two weeks.

source:philboxing.com

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Manny Pacquiao Promises 'Once in a Lifetime Fight' vs. Ricky Hatton

In a telephone interview with FanHouse, Manny Pacquiao, widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, talked about his dominant win over Oscar De La Hoya, his upcoming fight with Ricky Hatton (Saturday, May 2 on HBO pay-per-view) and what it's like to be the biggest star in the Philippines.

Michael David Smith: We're a few months removed from your fight with Oscar De La Hoya. When you look back on that fight, are you surprised at how thoroughly you dominated him?
Manny Pacquiao: Well, before the fight I believed, of course, I was going to beat Oscar -- but not in an easy fight like that. I am surprised that it was an easy fight.

Most people consider you the best boxer in the world. Do you consider yourself the best boxer in the world?
I don't want to think about that, whether I'm the best in the world. I want to focus on my career and give a good show in my fight with Ricky Hatton.

The person who was considered the best boxer in the world before you was Floyd Mayweather Jr. Do you think Floyd is really retired, or will we see him in the ring again?
I think he's going to fight again. He's not really retired.

Do you think you will fight him some day?
That's possible. Maybe after this fight. I heard from Floyd Jr.'s camp that he's coming back to the ring.

So people around Floyd have told you that you should expect him to return?
Yes, that's what I heard from the people around Floyd, that he's not really retired.

Do you think he would want a tune-up fight against an easier opponent or would he jump right in and fight you if you beat Ricky Hatton?
For me -- if I'm Floyd -- I would fight a tune-up fight and then fight me. That's for me, but I don't know what his plan is. He might want to fight me right away.

Obviously, before you can fight Floyd you'll need to beat Ricky Hatton. What kind of challenge does Ricky Hatton pose to you?
Ricky Hatton is a strong fighter, a good fighter. He's the top guy, and he's never lost at 140 pounds. I would never underestimate Hatton. I consider this fight the toughest fight of my career. I'm not looking past this fight.


Have you watched a lot of tape of Hatton's fights to prepare?
Yes, I've watched his last few fights. I study every opponent I fight, and as I train for Hatton I look for certain techniques that I can apply to this fight.

You've fought everywhere from strawweight (106 pounds) at the start of your professional career to welterweight (147 pounds) against De La Hoya. What do you think is the ideal weight class for you?
I'm comfortable at 140 pounds. I weigh 148 right now.

You're the most popular athlete in the Philippines, but is there a down side to your fame? Do you wish you could just walk down the street and be left alone?
I wish I could. I wish I could. But that would never happen. Especially right now. I can't walk down the street in the Philippines.

You're 30 years old, you've been boxing professionally since you were 16, and you have 53 professional fights under your belt. How much longer will you box?
I don't want to fight much longer. I'm planning right now to retire soon.

What will you do after you retire?
My plan is to run for office.

I know you've run for office in the past as well. What is it about politics that appeals to you?
I want to run for office because I want to help people. I grew up in poverty, and I want to see other people have better lives. I think I can improve the situation for a lot of people.

I've heard that you are recording your own entrance music, and against Hatton you'll come out to a song that you sing yourself.
Yes, I have a new album and I'm going to use my song as my ring entrance on May 2.

Will you get more involved in music when you retire from boxing?
Yes. I love to sing. I'd like to have a concert soon after my boxing career ends.

What would you like fans to know about you?
Just that they should watch my upcoming fight on May 2 against Ricky Hatton. It's going to be a great, great fight, a once in a lifetime fight.


source:boxing.fanhouse.com

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Ricky Hatton focused on Manny Pacquiao showdown

Ricky Hatton's mindset and focus is "very similar in frame of mind to when he fought Kostya Tszyu", according to the British boxer's father and manager Ray Hatton.

Hatton has cut to within 10lb of the 10st weight limit for his showdown with Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao, a month from now in Las Vegas on May 2.

"I've not seen Ricky in this frame of mind since 2005, when he was preparing for the biggest step up in his life," Hatton Snr said on Wednesday.

Hatton battered Tszyu, then considered in the top five pound for pound fighters, to a standstill at the MEN Arena to take the IBF 140lb title, the Australia-based Siberian unable to come out for the 12th round.

"Yes, he was hyped up when he fought Floyd Mayweather 16 months ago, but without the controlled focus he is showing this time," Hatton's father said.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

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