Pacquiao trainer, Roach thinks he should retire News

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Pacquiao trainer, Roach thinks he should retire

By Daily Sports on July 4, 2017

Freddie Roach told Yahoo Sports on Monday that he suggested to former champion Manny Pacquiao that he should retire, and said that if the Filipino superstar chooses to fight on, he should do a rematch with Jeff Horn before walking away from boxing for good.

Roach, in Hawaii on Monday on his way home from Brisbane, Australia, where he cornered Pacquiao on Saturday in his WBO welterweight title bout with the unbeaten Horn at Suncorp Stadium, said it bothers him that Pacquiao’s late-career struggles are impacting his legacy.

Pacquiao, 38, lost a unanimous decision Saturday by scores of 115-113 twice and 117-111.“It does bother me,” Roach said. “That’s why I suggested to Manny, ‘Hey Manny, I think you should retire,’ ” Roach said.

“He said, ‘Well, what about fighting a rematch with this guy?’ I said, ‘Well, maybe a rematch, but then that’s it.’ There can be no more [fights with Floyd] Mayweather and so forth.

“I would suggest to Manny that he retire now, but he wants to have that rematch in a neutral area, maybe in the Philippines. As a going-away party, I think that would be great, but then that’s it.

”The bout was very physical, Roach said, and Pacquiao no longer has the legs to take him through that battle. Pacquiao had Horn badly hurt in the ninth round, so much so that referee Mark Nelson went to Horn’s corner and warned him he was thinking of stopping it.

Pacquiao, who turns 39 in December, is 58-7-2 in a 22-year pro career. He’s won titles in eight weight classes and won the linear championship in a record five divisions.

•Photo shows Manny Pacquiao.

Source Daily Sports

Posted July 4, 2017