Pacquiao scoring knockdowns during sparring sessions – Roach

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Is Manny Pacquiao’s power fading away? Head coach Freddie Roach doesn’t think so.

During a media workout at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Pacquiao’s jolly and amiable head coach revealed some of the things that happened in their past training schedule.

Roach confirmed that Pacquaio handed his sparring mate two knockdowns in a 10-rounder setup that delighted the legendary trainer.

“He had probably his best sparring yesterday. We went 10 rounds and he got two knockdowns. It was the old Manny Pacquiao from 10 years ago. He’s not as big of a puncher usually at welterweight, but those knockdowns yesterday were a great boost for him,” said Roach.

It was evident how a 40-year-old Pacquiao stunned the boxing world after defeating a younger and bigger Keith Thurman during their 2019 bout.

What stood out the most was Pacquiao’s knockdown scored against Thurman, the first-ever the hard-hitting boxer tasted in his whole professional career.

With the bout against welterweight king Errol Spence Jr. close at hand, the Pacquiao camp is confident that they still got many left in the bag.

Many say this is a dangerous fight for Pacquiao but the eight-time division world champion believes he has the tools to deliver Spence’s first-ever career loss.

“I’m expecting a good fight. Spence is an aggressive fighter and I know that we can create a lot of action in the ring for all of the fans watching. I have lots of advantages in this fight. My speed and power, along with my strategy and experience, are all advantages for me,” said Pacquiao.