Freddie Roach says fight close
It appears that there are negotiations going on despite arguments between the two fighters on social media in which one blames the other for not being serious about getting ready to rumble. That’s actually hype and hype is a constant in the boxing world, and when you get a lot of it that means something is going down.
And now Roach’s words confirm that.
“I spoke to Bob Arum yesterday and I think I’m getting close to saying it’s very close, I think we’re very close,” Roach told Michael Woods of The Sweet Science. “It’s close. I think I know for a fact that it’s closer than ever.”
Mayweather – Pacquiao hype the fight
Back in November after Pacquiao, 57-5-2, destroyed Chris Algieri with six knockdowns, he began to get the hype war going. “People can prepare for (a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight) early next year,” he said. “It is a fight that I want. It is a fight the fans deserve.”
Now that time, and hype, has passed, has he said anything that would make his trainer’s words ring true? He has indeed: “It’s beautiful that we’re talking now. We’ve never had that before,” Pacquiao told the Philippines ABS-CBN News just last week.
Both Roach and Pacquiao pitch it as being a case of Mayweather balking at a fight. Roach spoke recently of any trepidation on the part of Mayweather stemming from Mayweather, who is 47-0, wanting to retire undefeated and not being certain a Pacquiao result would be forthcoming.
But that, too, is hype, another part of setting up the fight. As this pundit has noted before, Mayweather, 37, surely is aware that ducking Pacquiao, 36, would see fans put an asterisk beside his undefeated record that says “not really, he ducked the Pacman.” Not how a real fighter leaves the game so rest assured Mayweather won’t back out.
Mayweather wants superfight
Besides, Mayweather is on record as saying he wants the fight. When talking to reporters at the World Boxing Council convention in Las Vegas in December about a potential fight with Amir Khan, who’d just beaten Devon Alexander, Mayweather pushed it aside in in favor of Pacquiao.
“The other night I think he did 4,000 (in attendance) so Amir Khan, his name holds no weight,” Mayweather said at the time. “No one knows who Amir Khan is, except for people who are involved in boxing. My focus is Manny Pacquiao. Let’s make it happen.”
There have been roadblocks since 2009, drug test issues from Pacquiao, Mayweather not wanting to deal with his former manager, Bob Arum, and each making money an issue, But when push comes to shove – and punch – all that can now be considered hype that will heap even more attention on the bout when it finally arrives, likely on May 2.
So we are, as Freddie Roach said, very close.
