Freddie Roach: Fight Against Mayweather Needs To Be Finalised Soon, Wants Eight Weeks Of Training For Pacquiao

Freddie Roach believes that Manny Pacquiao will fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year but wants his ward to have at least eight weeks of training for the much anticipated super fight between the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers.

"I need eight weeks. That window is getting smaller and smaller,” Roach said via multiple outlets including the Bangkok Post and The National. “The boxing would start six weeks out, because if you go more than six weeks with Manny you’ll burn him out because of his work ethic.”

If the tentative May 2, 2015 fight date holds true, then Roach, who has handled Pacquiao’s fights since 2001, is alluding that the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight should be finalised end of February or the start of March as they will begin actual training on March 7, 2015.

The latest development, although not about the actual negotiations, is that MGM Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren have confirmed that the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada has been reserved for a fight on May 2, 2015 although the venue executive did not specifically state that the fighters involved are Mayweather Jr. or Pacquiao.


On Tuesday, Bob Arum, the head of Top Rank Promotions, was relatively silent about the negotiations declining to comment about Mayweather-Pacquiao during the media day for Chinese boxer Zou Shiming, who also trains in Roach’s Wild Card Gym. Pacquiao has a similar stance when asked by local reporters in the Philippines stating that fans should be patient and just wait for the announcement, which will most likely be done by Mayweather Jr.

In the same interview, Roach also added that he believes the fight will happen soon since both Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao have stated that they want the fight to happen. He also said that it would be the biggest fight of all time owing to the hype surrounding the fight and the availability of pay-per-view everywhere.

Over the weekend, a British outlet reported that the fight is already a done deal stating that the fight purse is set at $250 milllion— with a 60-40 per cent share for both fighters and with Mayweather getting the larger share of the pie of $150 million. Mayweather Jr., in a brief interview during the NBA All-Star Game, has denied those claims and said that no contract from either side have been signed yet.

To contact author of this article, email j.quizon@IBTimes.com.au.