KUALA LUMPUR – Manny Pacquiao is just breaking it gently to Freddie Roach that the latter will not be in his corner for the July 15 title fight with Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse.
“Freddie and I are like family,” said Pacquiao, who concluded a two-day promotional tour here Saturday by visiting the famous Petronas Towers along with Matthysse.
“But assuming that I choose Buboy (Fernandez) for this fight, Freddie can come back for my next fight,” said Pacquiao, who is coming off a one-year-layoff.
Before noon, Pacquiao and Matthysse left the Le Meridien Hotel in convoy of Mercedes sedans, and went to the Axiata Stadium, the 16,000-seat fight venue.
From there, they went to the Bukit Jalil Stadium, where the official weigh-in will take place. Then they visited the Petronas Towers, and had their pictures taken with the world’s tallest twin towers as backdrop.
They were scheduled to board a chartered Philippine Airlines flight to Manila in the evening.
Fernandez, the lifelong friend of Pacquiao, is keeping his cards close to his chest. He said he’s just waiting for the final word from Pacquiao.
He’s not taking anything away from the seven-time Trainer of the Year.
“I have great respect for coach Freddie. But it’s Manny who will decide. What’s important right now is for him to train early and properly,” he said.
Fernandez said he’s begun doing his homework.
“I’ve watched a lot of his tapes, the fights against Ruslan (Provodnikov) and Danny Garcia and others. We know his style and he’s aggressive,” said Fernandez.
“But if he chooses to fight Manny the way he fought the others, it will be to our advantage,” he said.
Fernandez said training should begin this coming week in Manila.
“Let’s get it started,” he said in Filipino.
Matthysse, who flies back to the United States tonight, will train in Indio, California under Joel Diaz, who trained Tim Bradley for one of the fights against Pacquiao.
The Argentine is not starting from scratch.
“I’ve been training in Argentina already. Now I’m going to start my camp in Indio,” said Matthysse, who had grown his beard in his two days here promoting the fight.