LOS ANGELES – Gently, Freddie Roach closed the door on Ricky Hatton.
The most successful boxing trainer in the world today said he was quite amused by reports that the British star who took a very devastating loss to Manny Pacquiao last Saturday in Las Vegas wanted Roach to be his next trainer.
It came in the aftermath of previous reports that all’s not well between Hatton and his trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. There were talks that the boxer didn’t like his trainer being late for some training sessions as they prepared for Pacquiao.
Roach said he has good reason to turn Hatton down.
“I heard that story through my friend Billy (Keane). And so a lot of people asked me, ‘Would I train Hatton?’” Roach told Pinoy scribes who paid him a visit to the Wild Card Gym Monday.
“At this point I can only help him but the only fight out there for him is a fight with my guy Amir Khan,” he added.
Khan, who also comes from the United Kingdom, is scheduled to fight Andriy Kotelnik for the WBA light-welterweight crown on June 27 in Greenwich, London.
And there’s a possibility that Hatton, in case he doesn’t retire, may face Khan if he beats Kotelnik.
“I don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” said Roach, insinuating that Hatton may suffer the same fate against Khan as he did against Pacquiao.
“I think he should retire. He has a lot of money. He has a family. Knockouts like that are not good. That was a dangerous knockout. It was a little scary. He was out cold he never had a clue where he was,” said the American trainer.
“I hope he retires. So, will I train him? Probably not,” he said.
The day after the fight, Hatton spent some time in the pool of his Vegas hotel, in shorts, bare-chested, wearing sunglasses, and enjoying some drink. His gorgeous fiancee, Jennifer Dooley, was with him.
Roach is probably the most sought-after trainer in the sport today, and he said he owes it to Pacquiao, almost eight years since they first hooked up for the Lehlo Ledwaba fight in Las Vegas.
“The reason why I’m the best trainer is that I have the best fighter in the world. He makes me look good,” he said.
And quite famous, too.
“A little more famous than ever. I was driving home last night (from Vegas to LA) and stopped by a restaurant. Then I was taking pictures everywhere. ‘Hey that’s Pacquiao’s trainer,’ people would say,” said Roach.
“Then I took off and I was thinking so much about the fight I drove past the exit I had to turn around,”
he added.