- Brad Cooney, Examiner.com
Freddie Roach never liked the idea of having to go to The Philippines, and usually he’s spot on with his thinking on things as it pertains to Manny Pacquiao. Already we are hearing about the negative impact that has transpired due to training in the PI. Manny continues to be distracted by the mass amount of attention that he gets.
Pacquiao has been reduced to swimming in a pool rather than running because of the amount of attention that he gets over there. The weather has been horrible, with floods and the extremely sad news of those who have lost their lives in the typhoon.
This writer has been getting mixed signals from the camp, and does not get the same feeling as previous camps. Yes, there are always little messy things prior to one of Manny’s fights but they get worked out and things resort to normalcy. This time around there seems to be more to it. The distractions with the fans, the weather, and then mix in the all out war between Roach and Michael Koncz, it’s more than messy.
The team will be arriving back in Los Angeles later this month, and it could not be a moment sooner. Roach and Manny will have about 3 good weeks to adjust back to the time difference. With Roach being back in his nest at Wild Card, he will have a firmer grip on the Koncz situation as well. Roach will have more of his soldiers, more of his confidants surrounding him. Being thousands of miles away, halfway across the world from Los Angeles has it’s problems, and we have seen them clearly so far.
The good news is that apparently Pacquiao has had some very good sparring. Jr Middleweight Shawn Porter has been a blessing. More good news is the fact that Pacquiao is naturally a hard working athlete. His natural ability mixed in with his work ethic, and a great game-plan by Roach should provide what he needs to get the job done.
