CRACKS in the solid partnership between Manny Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach began to show following a highly-debatable loss Down Under six years ago.
Pacquiao was dethroned as WBO welterweight champion by an Australian upstart in Jeff Horn, who pulled off a major upset by winning via unanimous decision in the title fight held at outdoor Suncorp Stadium on July 2, 2017.
READ: Horn stuns Pacquiao in Brisbane brawl
Bloodied and weary after going through 12 gruelling rounds against one of boxing’s all-time legends, Horn still managed to get the judges’ nod and won a controversial decision by scores of 115-113, 115-113, 117-111.
While the roaring crowd of 51,052 welcomed the decision with much delight, there were those who believed Pacquiao, fighting at the advance age of 38, had still done enough to win the bout.
Horn was the bigger fighter and the more aggressive between the two, but the Filipino great obviously landed the more severe blows that left Horn a bloody mess by the end of the fight.
The match was actually on the verge of being stopped as Pacquiao, who also sported a cut on his left temple, rocked and pummeled an obviously spent Horn in a dominant Round 9 that had the underdog challenger on wobbly legs on several occasion.
Referee Mark Nelson warned Horn just before Round 10 he will stop the fight if the Australian would be on the receiving end again of Pacquiao’s relentless punching.
Apparently, it was the cue Horn needed as he engaged the champion in a series of heavy exchanges in the last three rounds to finish the fight on his feet.
The stadium was shaken to its foundation when ‘a new WBO champion’ was announced, a decision that left the entire Pacquiao corner in total disbelief.
“The decision of the judges, I respect that,” said the eight-time world division champion and a seating senator back then.
Boxing experts, analysts, and those who were at ringside however, were not convinced, as majority of them had Pacquiao winning the fight.
In light of the controversy generated by the outcome of the fight, the WBO ordered to re-score the bout utilizing five judges. Horn won in three of the judges’ scorecards, one had Pacquiao winning, and the other scored it as draw.
Roach however, had a different take on the loss.
The legendary trainer thought Pacquiao could have gone for the kill in the 10th round when he had Horn in serious trouble the previous round.
“I just told Manny give me one more of them and the fight’s over. It’s done,” said Roach. “He just couldn’t do it. We lost the decision.”
Roach admitted there was chaos in the Pacquiao corner in the late rounds of the Horn fight, which was further aggravated following the loss.
Curiously, trainer and fighter didn’t get a chance to talk after the fight.
The last time Roach saw Pacquiao was inside the bathroom of their dressing room as the boxer silently combed his hair in front of a mirror.
“I could not even get him to say hi to me. I don’t know if he was upset with me or what,” said the Hall of Fame trainer, who immediately left for Los Angeles shortly after the bout.
“He was definitely avoiding me.”
While Roach thought Pacquiao didn’t fight badly, he believes the end is nearing for the Filipino warrior that retirement could be the next option. The loss afterall, was the second in the last four fights of the Pacman.
The American trainer likewise thought Pacquiao’s work in the Senate was getting in the way of his boxing career.
“He likes this better than the other one. For me, looking in, I can see he’s liking this job now. He’s a lot busier in this job than he was before. Now he’s a senator…maybe it is over.”
Pacquiao’s cold treatment of Roach would extend for over a year, before his camp announced a title fight with Argentine Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur for the WBA welterweight championship middle of 2018.
To Roach’s surprise, he wasn’t notified about the title match, learning through the members of the press that long-time Pacquiao confidante and childhood friend Buboy Fernandez will be the one calling the shots in the boxer’s corner.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say I was hurt that he didn’t contact me personally about his decision,” said the trainer in an official statement.
Boxer and trainer would later be reunited in Pacquiao’s succeeding fights with Adrian Broner, Keith Thurman, and Yordenis Ugas.
But things were never the same again between the two, after a rift that took roots following that contentious loss to Horn in Brisbane in July of 2018.
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