Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Freddie Roach Wants to Train Floyd, Has Suicidal Urges
Freddie Roach gave a revealing interview to Gareth A. Davies of The Telegraph, touching on topics such as Manny Pacquiao's upcoming fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and what boxing has done for him personally over the years.
Roach, who is currently prepping Pacquiao to take down the unbeaten American on May 2, even told Davies he believes he can improve Pretty Boy's killer instincts:
"I would like to train Floyd. He makes so many mistakes. He’s gifted but he makes a lot of mistakes. He rolls but he doesn’t counter. He doesn’t come back with what that roll created. Those are things that Eddie (Futch) taught me but I wasn’t talented enough to do that.
This kid Mayweather has the talent to do it but he doesn’t finish the job. He’d be a much better fighter. The best thing he does is feint. He’s the best feinter in the world. Remember when he beat Diego Corrales? Feints killed him. Beautiful set-ups.
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Mayweather steps into the ring with Pacquiao having maintained a legendary 47-0 record, but Roach previously told Bleacher Report's Stephen Nelson that Mayweather's record won't be intact after next month's Las Vegas showdown:
There's no doubt Roach has been happy to speak about the opposite camp throughout the training process.
He recently fueled claims Mayweather suffered a beatdown in training, saying, "I got a report from one of my friends in Mexico—that one of his Mexican boys beat the s--t out of him two days in a row," per Carlos Boogs of Boxing Scene. He also noted Mayweather has "fragile hands" and his "legs are a little shot," per Reuters (h/t Boxing Scene).
In The Telegraph's interview, however, he also spent time to discuss his own experiences. He went on to mention how boxing has helped him cope with suicidal thoughts brought on by the medication he takes for Parkinson's disease.
Roach acknowledged the difficulty of having Parkinson's since 1992, and how maintaining a busy work schedule has helped him. He admits he "never" takes a day off, detailing how working in the gym distracts his mind:
"I don’t get sick too often. When I’m sick, I just go to the gym and it goes away. With Parkinson’s, sometimes you wake up and think: ‘Why the f--k did they pick me?’ But, you know, that’s part of life. Some of the medications do cause depression and so forth and some mornings I’ll think about bad things. But then I’ll go to the gym and go to work and everything bad goes away.
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Although Roach revealed he thinks "about jumping out the window some days," he's confident he would never act on his suicidal feelings:
"I have a new neurologist and I told him that sometimes I think about killing myself. He asked me why and I said: ‘It’s just f-----g difficult sometimes dealing with this s--t’. He said maybe I should see a psychologist. I said: ‘Doc, I’m just kidding. I might think about it but I would never hurt myself. I am not that brave.’
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Former professional boxer Carl Greaves tweeted his admiration for Roach:
As far as the ring itself goes, preparing Pacquiao to beat Mayweather is undoubtedly the toughest challenge of Roach's boxing career. Question marks remain over Manny's current quality and whether he can reproduce the performances of years gone by, but Roach's management ensures he will at least have an intricate game plan to carry out.
Mayweather's defence needs to be unlocked, although this task has proven nigh on impossible since he made his professional debut in 1996. Roach has taught Pacquiao to fight smart and to learn that his left-hand power is just one weapon in a toolset.
It remains to be seen whether the duo have worked on something completely new ahead of the upcoming encounter. Taking Mayweather by surprise could be the key to victory. For Roach, achieving a dent in the opposite fighter's record would be the "greatest night."
If things had been different, however, the legendary trainer wouldn't have minded dishing out orders in the opposite corner.
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