Pacquiao is more than lucky to have Freddie Roach

I am telling you right now, if there was no Freddie Roach, there wouldn't be a Manny Pacquiao. Well of course there would be a Manny Pacquiao, just not the all-time great you see right now. Please allow me to elaborate.

Let's start from top to bottom. Just look at Freddie right now. Up to this point, Freddie is still by Pacquiao's side. Freddie is the most sought out boxing trainer in the business with clients that range from UFC superstars such as Anderson Silva, Andrei Arlovski and just before he left for Baguio he was training Tito Ortiz. I won't even start with his boxers because you already know, every single boxer in the planet would want to be trained by him.

Regardless however, Freddie would leave everything behind for his "favorite son". And despite the condition of his health which probably makes 18 hour trips in an airplane just a tad bit more enjoyable than sliding down a 1000 feet long razor blade into a tub of rubbing alcohol, Freddie is always there to support Manny.

Manny Pacquiao is an international household name. Finding a boxing fan that hasn’t at the very least heard of his name is like finding a Filipino who has never been to a karaoke party. After bursting in the American boxing scene in 2001 by beating the then-IBF Super Bantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, the once unknown jumping jellybean of a bantamweight has climbed 6 weight classes from bantamweight to welterweight and has amassed belts in 6 different divisions overall in his career. However, after 16 wins, 3 and 1/2 conquered Mexican legends, a few more tough Mexicans, a British boxing icon, a few movies, a couple of music albums, 300 something commercials, 1 political loss and hundreds of different managers, lawyers, political hangers-on, leeches and Team Pacquiao members, one thing has never changed- his trainer Freddie Roach.

When Manny first came to America and knocked on the boxing gyms looking for someone to take him in, he received the cold shoulder most Filipinos before him got from trying to crack into the American boxing scene. Let’s be real, there was little to no interest from this side of the globe for professional boxers coming from that other side of the globe. You just didn’t see too many Asians, especially Filipino boxers fighting out here back then. For whatever reason, that was the case. Manny saw more shut doors than the Jehovah’s Witnesses… well maybe not more but you know what I mean.

It was Freddie Roach who gave Pacquiao a break and helped him see his full potential. Truth be told, other trainers were avoiding Manny like merchants in Divisoria hiding from their 5-6 "Bumbay" loaners. See, despite his skill- and fellow boxing champ Nonito Donaire Jr. further emphasized this statement in an interview I did with him a couple of months ago- nobody wanted to handle, promote or let alone have anything to do with Filipino boxers in the US simply because they weren't marketable. But Roach did not see money, color, race or whatever else. He saw talent and desire. He saw Pacquiao's determination and dedication to boxing. He saw the love for the sport that he himself had in his heart through this skinny little kid who walked in his gym and hit his mitts like a fireball on crack. And now General Paulino Santos must be rolling in his grave in fears of his name getting permanently deleted from the map of the Philippines because we all know that General Santos City, Philippines is really Manny Pacquiao City, Philippines.

From that point on, Freddie and Manny built a solid trainer-boxer relationship. Manny worked his tail off from day one, and Freddie responded by sharing and giving his all to help the boy reach his potential. And boy did he reach and surpass his potential! Can you imagine now, how things would’ve been without a Manny Pacquiao? C’mon, I challenge you. Think about it. What if Freddie Roach overslept that day or got his car towed or something and that meeting never happened? I’m pretty sure Juan Manuel Marquez has thought of a world without a Manny Pacquiao a few times before but let’s get real. I know Halloween is coming up but do I really have to put on my Larry Merchant costume to stress out how big of an impact Manny Pacquiao has made for the sport of boxing? He singlehandedly resuscitated a sport gasping for air.

He not only kicked the door open for Filipinos and Asian boxers alike, he also helped reacquaint the boxing public to the lower weight classes- not to mention spawning a newfound passionate boxing fan base that is the Filipino boxing fans. (Pacland is the most active boxing website in the galaxy)

Just as the legendary Larry (Merchant, not Bird) said it himself, “If there was a Manny Pacquiao in every division in boxing, the world would be a better place. We’d have peace in the Middle East.”

And fact of the matter is, there wouldn’t be a Manny Pacquiao, if there wasn’t a Freddie Roach. Freddie took an unwanted, unknown kid and thrived on his work ethic and potential and saw it through to the end. Even to this day, it’s no secret that Freddie considers Manny his favorite fighter ever and even went as far as saying he attributes his potential Hall of Fame career as trainer to Manny. However, Manny isn’t just any other teacher’s pet. Freddie and Manny are like brothers, father and son even to a certain extent.

Where would Manny be without Freddie? I'm sure Manny himself knows the answer to that. Even during times when Manny can be his usual hardheaded self, Freddie is the one that keeps him in check. But even when Manny chooses to be stubborn, Freddie never left. Look at the other tandems out there that broke up once they reached some form of success. You got Floyd Mayweather and his dad, Cotto and his uncle, Roy Jones Jr. and his dad, Nonito and his dad and the list just goes on and on.

Freddie Roach may not be a biological father to any son but just by the way he has taken care of Manny Pacquiao, it's safe to say that Freddie would have been a great father to anyone.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m10d3-Pacquiao-is-more-than-lucky-to-have-Freddie-Roach