Pacquiao, Roach differ on Mosley KO
0 
Manny Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach expressed contrasting views on Wednesday when discussing the possibility of a knockout by the Filipino in his title bout next week with American Shane Mosley.
While Pacquiao said a knockout had not been a specific focus during their preparations over the last two months, Roach felt stopping an opponent was the perfect way to end a fight.
Mosley, 46-6-1 with 39 knockouts, has yet to be knocked out during his professional career and Roach has set his sights on Pacquiao becoming the first boxer to achieve the feat.
"I think all fights should end in knockouts so I am looking for a knockout," Roach said.
"Shane is a tough guy and a very durable guy and it would be a feather in Manny's cap to be the first one to stop him. It would just prove to the world how much better he is than that other guy (Floyd Mayweather) that couldn't stop him."
Eleven months ago, Mayweather resisted a furious early onslaught by Mosley to preserve his unbeaten professional record with an unanimous points victory in a welterweight bout in Las Vegas. He has not fought since and boxing fans would dearly love to see the American go into the ring against Pacquiao to decide the mythical title of the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.
Fully focused
For the time being, though, Pacquiao and his trainer are fully focused on the WBO welterweight title fight against veteran Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 7.
"Manny will fight at a fast pace and I don't know if Shane is going to be prepared to fight at that pace," Roach said of the Filipino who has been installed as an odds-on favorite by bookmakers. "But we are going to force the action and we are going to go for it (a knockout) this time. If it comes, it comes. I think Manny is definitely the guy to do it."
Pacquiao, already established as one of the best offensive fighters of all time with a career record of 52-3-2 with 38 knockouts, was reluctant to talk about his chances of stopping Mosley. "We are not very focused on the knockout," the 32-year-old said. "If the knockout comes, it will come. We have prepared ourselves that we are fighting 12 rounds."
Asked how much it would mean to him to become the first fighter to stop Mosley, Pacquiao replied: "I would be excited for that. My concern right now is the fight that we can give to the people and to the fans. I want them to be happy."
The Filipino southpaw is not taking his 39-year-old opponent lightly. "Shane Mosley is still strong and he moves like a 29-year-old or a 30-year-old," he said.
"He is the kind of fighter that you cannot underestimate. He is bigger than me and stronger and of course he is a former pound-for-pound champion. He is still good."
Go to Forum >>0 Comments