Ace Trainer Freddie Roach Says His Man Pac-Man Will Get Rid Of Margarito “Inside Eight Rounds”

Freddie RoachBy James Slater – As all fight fans know, Trainer of Champions Freddie Roach can’t resist making a prediction before one of his guys fights. Fans also know how good Roach’s track record is when it comes to making these predictions; with Freddie sometimes even getting the exact round right.

Well, with regards to the upcoming, November 13th clash that will involve superstar and pound-for-pound number-one Manny Pacquiao and his WBC light-middleweight title fight with Mexico’s Antonio Margarito, Roach has made his prediction. Now in Manila with Pac-Man – who has begun sparring for the fight that, if victorious, will see the lethal lefty pick up his 8th world title – Roach has told the media that he will be “disappointed” if Manny does not score a KO in Texas in November..

As quoted by Philstar.com, Roach said he fully expects Margarito to “fight physical,” and that the disgraced former welterweight champ will do “anything to win if he can.” However, Roach also said that Pacquiao will use a lot of angles in the fight and that “Tony’s” rough tactics will be no problem. When asked for his prediction on the fight, Freddie said his man will win inside 8-rounds.

“I’ll be disappointed if we don’t knock him out,” Roach said of the Margarito rumble. “He [Margarito] is a very physical person and he can do anything to win that fight. If he can do anything, he’ll do anything he can to win. We’re working on that – the elbows, the head-butts. We need to keep Manny out of that position, [and] we’re going to use a lot of angles for this fight.”

To be fair, most fans and experts (and a lot of times, it is the paying fans who prove themselves to be the experts), fully expect Pac-Man to win in November, and it will be no shock to these people if he does so. But would a Pacquiao KO serve to stun these guys? Sure, 32-year-old Margarito has been stopped before – by “Sugar” Shane Mosley back in Jan. of last year – but can Pac-Man halt him? And can he do it quicker then “Sugar,” as Roach has predicted?

When it comes to being superb judges of what to expect in a big fight, pro fighters themselves often fit the bill. Tim Bradley, the number-one at 140-pounds, told this writer that Pac-Man will utterly destroy Margarito in November, taking care of him inside three or four rounds at the most. Roach doesn’t predict that swift a win, but he is sure his warrior will leave Texas having not heard the reading of the judges’ scorecards.

But, it must be remembered, Roach also predicted Manny would take out Joshua Clottey. On that occasion, back in March, he was wrong. Could it be that “The Tijuana Tornado,” whatever you may think of him as a person, also sees it through to the final bell against the Filipino great?

Could the celebrated Manny Pacquiao even be on the verge of his toughest fight in a long, long time!?