Freddie Roach is taking it further. He said that after the Diaz annihilation, he was convinced Pacquiao could go up against Oscar de la Hoya. And beat him.“That performance against Diaz is what set me to make that decision," Roach said. “I’ve been working on his right hand for some time now and sometimes it’s there a little bit. Against Juan Manuel Marquez, it wasn’t there because he’s a guy who’s hard to land a right hand on. But the thing is, Manny has so much confidence now after beating Diaz, he knows he can do a lot more using both hands," Roach added.
“Manny’s become a better fighter after the Diaz fight."
Roach was said to have given Pacquiao an “A-plus" for his win over Diaz, a rating he’s never given his fighter before. But the ultimate compliment could be his recent projection that Pacquiao could stand up to de la Hoya, a sure Hall-of-Famer, and knock him out.
That is, if the Pacquiao the world saw won over Diaz is the same Pac-man who will trade mitts with the Golden Boy.
“I’ve always had confidence in Pacquiao’s right hand," Roach said. “Sometimes he doesn’t have that confidence. But now, the way he dominated Diaz, using that right and setting everything up including his left hand, he’s become the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."
“And you know Oscar, he loves all these challenges and I know this is going to be a big motivation for him," Roach added.
FYI - Behind Sports
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