Manny Pacquiao 'Armed Guards' Reports Rubbished by Freddie Roach

Boxing trainer Freddie Roach has denied reports Manny Pacquiao is preparing for his super-fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.  surrounded by armed guards at the Wildcard Boxing Club, a story set in motion by Martin Domin of the Daily Mail.

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Roach Slams Armed Guard Reports

Friday, Mar. 6

Roach has emphatically responded to the story, telling AFP (h/t Yahoo): "Yeah I heard something about that. It's not true. We have our normal security. To say they are armed and and are patrolling outside the gym is b------t."

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Armed Guards Reportedly Hired for Pacquiao

Friday, Mar. 6

Martin Domin of the Daily Mail previously reported that Roach ensured the so-called guards had guns so that "people respect them."

Roach recently admitted the usually open gym will not allow viewers to witness Pacquiao's training regime in the lead up to the fight, per Unus Alladin of the South China Morning Post:

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I won’t tell you what the game plan is because that will be very silent. The whole Wildcard Gym will be shut down and we will work out Manny’s best strategy and nobody will watch it.

The cameras are only allowed after sparring and after mitts because the game plan is very important in this fight. I have had a plan for five years for this guy [Mayweather]. It has changed a bit [over the years] because both fighters have changed. But most of it is still intact and I know exactly what I want Manny to do.

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Pacquiao did provide fans with a window into his early sessions, however, posting numerous videos of himself shadow boxing on Instagram:

This follows the release of Mayweather's first training photos, which showed him sparring and lifting weights, per MailOnline Sport:

Roach is yet to join up with Pacquiao, but will do so after he oversees Zou Shiming's world-title fight against Amnat Ruenroeng on Saturday. The legendary trainer hasn't wasted time in starting the trash talk, though, and recently took a pop at Floyd Mayweather Sr.

Mayweather Sr. is preparing his son for the encounter, something Roach believes will lean the Las Vegas bout in Pacquiao's favour, reported by Domin: "He just isn't very good, especially during the fight itself. One of our advantages is having him in the other corner."

Roach also suggested he feels Pacquiao has to win the fight to perform "a public service for boxing," per Domin. He believes the sharpness of Floyd's movement has diminished over the years: 

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Floyd is so disrespectful. Manny is the perfect role model for this fight and Mayweather is not. I told Manny we’ve got to beat him for the whole world. There’s no way we can’t win this fight.

Floyd’s legs don’t move like they once did. He’s very clever but the fight is so big he may feel like he has to take a risk and exchange with us. If he does that, that’s the best thing in the world for Manny in my mind. Manny will be performing a public service for boxing when he beats Floyd.

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It's certainly interesting to see which snippets of information are coming out from both fighters' camps. Roach has made an impression before starting his training regime with Pac-Man, while Mayweather's camp appear content on sitting back for now.

This is perhaps reminiscent of the fight we're going to see, as it's Pacquiao who needs to lure his opponent into a slug-fest for the best chance of winning. Provide Floyd with too much time to think and he'll dissect any opponent put in front of him. 

Such a contest is the biggest fight either will ever take part in, but Mayweather remains favourite, per Oddschecker.com.

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His career-long unbeaten record and Pacquiao's inability to knock an opponent out since 2009 suggests Manny needs to find his best-ever form to take the win. They will meet during the only scheduled press conference ahead of the bout, which takes place on Mar. 11.

Both corners are likely to keep providing the media with extracts of information. This keeps the hype ticking over nicely and forms the minor storylines of a battle which has been years in the making. Armed guards or not, Roach has already made it clear Pacquiao will come out firing in Las Vegas.