No less than noted American trainer Freddie Roach has expressed his elation on the progress of Pacquiao’s buildup to the Jan. 21 rematch billed as "The Battle" at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
"Manny’s doing really well. He’s training every day with excellent sparring partners," said Roach in an interview with Boxingtalk.com.
But staying in shape is one thing. Beating a fighter of Morales’ caliber is another.
That’s why Roach wants to make sure that Pacquiao will be more than ready and focused when he fights the former three-time world champion again.
"I told Manny that he is going to have more than just the 1-2 (punch) to beat Morales. I think we have to back Morales up to win the fight," said Roach.
That would mean Pacquiao, 27, will have to dictate the pace of the fight unlike the first time when the Mexican champion took control after a slow start with Pacquiao falling short of his bid despite a late rally.
"The last fight, Manny was just looking for the big left hand but Morales is too smart to get hit by that," said Roach. "We can’t let Morales dictate the pace of the fight like the last time."
Truly, Pacquiao has learned his lesson and he dramatized this by scoring an impressive win over Mexican Hector Velazquez in the undercard of the Morales-Zahir Raheem fight last September where Morales lost.
"Manny is on track where we want him. We are working towards making him a more complete fighter than he was the last time," said Roach.
Morales, for sure, is also doing the same, making the rematch truly a fight to watch.