“For as long as Manny is happy and those appearances won’t be too much exacting, it’s okay with me,” the 51 year-old four-time ‘trainer of the year’ awardee told Malaya Business Insight in an overseas telephone interview yesterday. Roach was reacting to reports that Pacquiao will be guesting at ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Thursday (Friday in Manila) or a little over a week before his title-fight against “Sugar” Shane Mosley on May (May 8 in Manila) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“Manny is a pro, he’s mature enough to know what he’s doing. He has a job to do barely a week from now and he knows that. So, he would know when to go home and rest,” Roach said. “Manny, we all know, loves to do many things. I know that, too.”
“Manny loves to sing as he loves to box. He loves to act. He even loves to dance,” he said. “If someone loves everything he does, nothing to worry about. What is bad is he stays late at night. Look, he is killing himself in training. He’s almost dead after four, five hours of gym work. Count his early morning condition stuff and he’s really sapped of energy at the end of the day.”
“In other words, whether he likes it or not, he will have to go home after whatever social events he is committed to meet,” he reasoned out.
“What I don’t want is for some people to fetch him at nights and stayed very late doing things athletes should not do. That’s also bad. But, as I said, Manny is old enough to understand what he should do and should not do. And I trust him on that,” Roach remarked.
“That’s why I allow him to do some social functions event while in training. Manny’s a different kind of fighter. He’s a politician, too,” he explained.
Roach was referring to an instance when the pound-for-pound king had to train on good Friday in the presence of rock legend Steven Adler of Guns “N Roses, which he said he agreed to happen.
The WBO world welterweight champion also reached out further on the same day when he allowed Petie Stewart, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis to watch him while working out at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
While his training has been very strict as far as visitors are concerned, he himself invited Stewart, who came all the way from Indiana to watch him spar.
"Tuloy pa rin naman ang training kahit na paminsan-minsan ay may social functions tayong ina-attendan. Maintain parin ang extensive training. Basta dalangin ko lang pagingatan ako ng Panginoon na huwag masasaktan o magkakaroon ng disgrasya na makakapigil sa ensayo,” Pacquiao, for his part, said.
"Masaya ako dahil kahit nag-e-ensayo, nakakapagbigay naman ako ng kasiyahan sa mga fans na nanggagaling pa sa iba’t-ibang lugar, lalo na yung may karamdaman,” he said. It's an honor really na may mga ganung tao na hindi lang Pilipino at also American people."
Meanwhile, the heaviest phase in training camp will be winding down this week before the team heads to Las Vegas on May 2 for the fight
This week actually is turning out to be a week of music in the camp as the Pacman released his new CD, prior to guesting on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" for the 4th time, where fans hope to hear another knockout singing performance.
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