Para kay Roach, tapos na ang panahon ni Dela Hoya

Para kay American trainer Freddie Roach, tapos na ang panahon ng mga matatandang boksingerong katulad ng 35-anyos na si Oscar Dela Hoya.

Nakapagpasikat ng 22 world champions, ibinahagi ng 48-anyos na si Roach ang mga laban ng mga boxing legends na sina Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Joe Louis at Rocky Marciano.

“You look at the history of boxing when the older guy fights the younger guy, like when (Muhammad) Ali fought (Larry) Holmes or when Joe Louis got beaten by Rocky Marciano,” ani Roach kahapon sa panayam ng Reuters mula sa kanyang Wild Card Boxing Gym sa Hollywood, California.

Nakatakdang sagupain ng 29-anyos na si Manny Pacquiao si Dela Hoya, isang world six-division champion, sa isang non-title welter-weight fight sa Disyembre 6 sa MGM Grand Garden Arena sa Las Vegas, Nevada.

Inaasahan ni Roach na si Pacquiao ang mangingibabaw sa kanilang upakan ni Dela Hoya.

“It’s the younger man’s time. I am 100 percent confident. I don’t think Oscar will be able to keep up and I think we will knock him out in the late rounds,” wika ni Roach. “I know Oscar’s strengths and weaknesses. He is very consistent and he trains hard for fights but he is just older. The one thing we have to take away from him is his reach advantage.”

Ang panalo naman kay Dela Hoya ang ganap na maglalagay sa Pilipinas sa world boxing map, dagdag ni Pacquiao.

“This is the biggest fight in my boxing career,” ani Pacquiao. “This is the door through which the name of Manny Pacquiao will be known, not only in the Philippines but in boxing history.”

Matapos agawin ang World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight belt ni Mexican-American David Diaz via ninth-round TKO noong Hunyo 28, umakyat na sa 151 pounds ang timbang ng tubong General Santos City para sa kanilang 147-pound bout ni Dela Hoya. 

“I feel very comfortable at that weight. This is the hardest training I have done in my boxing career and we have focused on speed because that will be the key,” sabi ni Pacquiao. (Russell Cadayona)