MACAU – It’s not a concern for Freddie Roach whether Manny Pacquiao comes under the agreed catch weight of 144 lbs for his Sunday’s welterweight title match against Chris Algieri.
It’s the fighter and not the weight which wins the fight.
“The weight is not gonna win the fight. When the bell rings, all the weight goes away and the better fighter wins the fight,” said Roach, 54.
The reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) 147-lbs titleholder has been walking around at 140 lbs until the final day of training on Thursday.
“I have to eat more,” admitted the 35-year-old boxing great. “Ok lang nakakakain ako ng mabuti, no pressure, hindi ako nagugutom.”
But Roach a sees no problem being the smaller and lighter fighter come the day of the fight, when he expects the Pacman to come at around 146 or 147.
For the weigh-in, set Saturday, he said Pacquiao should be at 142.
The five-time Trainer of the Year expects Algieri to put an added weight on Sunday especially amidst report the challenger from Huntington, New York is having a hard time shedding off the extra pounds to meet the agreed catch weight.
“Algieri will put a lot of weight on and we won’t. He’ll be the bigger guy, but he’ll be slower also.
“If he puts on 10 lbs after weigh-in, he’ll make him sluggish. But he’s a nutritionist, so he should know better,” said Roach of the tall challenger, who holds a bachelor in healthcare science from Stony Brook University.
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