MANHATTAN BEACH, California—Had it not been for the near-fatal accident that struck Errol Spence, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach would have preferred to sign up Spence as Manny Pacquiao’s next foe.
Freddie Roach wants Danny Garcia for Manny Pacquiao. (Nick Giongco)
Although he doesn’t have the authority to pick, Roach believes Spence is not that invincible, and that Pacquiao is highly capable of handing him his first loss.
“I would have liked Spence against Pacquiao and I watched his last two fights and he hasn’t looked that great. I think that (Spence) is a good fight for Manny but unfortunately accidents happen,” Roach said in an interview with a couple of Manila-based scribes.
Spence, the International Boxing Federation champion, “was very lucky” according to Roach, to have survived a car crash in his native Arlington, Texas, last month that saw his white Ferrari Spider flip over thrice.
With Spence (26-0 with 21 KOs) indisposed after suffering injuries, the choice is now down to the two Garcias and Roach is more inclined to get Danny.
“Danny Garcia, much better fighter. Mikey’s coming off a loss. He lost his last fight. How can you put somebody who is coming off a loss?”
The last fight of Danny (35-2 with 21 KOs), meanwhile, took place in April and he was victorious against Adrian Granados.
Mikey (39-1 with 30 KOs) was beaten lopsidedly by Spence last March in Texas. Pacquiao’s camp is looking at a March date and Roach swears “it’s a great date for Pacquao as long as I can have him for six weeks.”
“A six-week training camp is a lot better than eight. Manny trains hard. And six weeks is lot better than eight because he burns out (if he trains for eight weeks).”
Pacquiao (62-7-2 with 39 KOs) scored his most dramatic victory in years last July when he dealt the younger and fresher Keith Thurman his first defeat to retain the World Boxing Association crown.