SO as not to further widen the reported rift within his team, Manny Pacquiao said there's no one to blame for the loss to Yordeni Ugas in their world welterweight title fight two weeks ago but himself.
Pacquiao admitted he overtrained for the 12-round fight which marked his return to the ring after a two-year absence but absolved trainers Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez as well as strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune.
Pacquiao suffered from cramps from the second round on and lost a unanimous decision to the 35-year-old champion from Cuba.
“Sabihin ko na lang, para hindi sila nagsisisihan or nag-aaway, sa akin na lang i-blame lahat,” said the 42-year-old Filipino senator during an appearance on Rappler Talk. "Siguro sa sobrang passionate ko, na over-train ako."
Pacquiao accepted the blame in a bid to put a stop to the finger-pointing within his team prior, during, and after the August 21 title fight at the T-Mobile Arena.
Initially, there was the confusion on the roles of Roach and Fernandez in Pacquiao’s corner. Fernandez claimed he has been the lead trainer of Pacquiao since the Lucas Matthysse title fight in 2018 yet Roach, supposedly relegated to active consultant, continued to call the shots during fights.
The latest spat pitted Fortune against Roach after the strength and conditioning coach from Australia accused the 61-year-old Hall of Fame trainer of putting the blame on him for the cramps that slowed Pacquiao during the Ugas fight.
'Buo naman ang team namin'
Pressed about the matter, Pacquiao said he’s not aware of any misunderstanding in his camp.
“Wala akong nalalaman tungkol sa ganyan. Buo naman yung team namin,” said the Pacman, who completed his 10-day quarantine at the Conrad Hotel on Wednesday together with his family and close relatives.
“Hindi ko naman nakikita sa kanila. Nag-uusap naman kaming lahat,” added the eight-division world champion. “Bago ako umalis (ng US) nag-usap naman kami, after ng fight. Wala namang problema.”
In order to spare anyone of culpability, Pacquiao said all fingers should point to him.
“Tanggapin ko na lang. That’s boxing, e,” he said.
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