Roach to Pacquiao: Slowdown!

Freddie Roach is facing the same problem he’d faced many times before: how to slow Manny Pacquiao down.

“The main job right now is to try and slow him down,” Roach said Thursday at the Wild Card Gym, after working the mitts with Pacquiao for at least a dozen rounds.

It was more like a sparring session.

And at times it looked and sounded like they were hitting each other hard.

Roach slapped Pacquiao hard with his mitts, to the body and sometimes to the head, and the latter got away with some of his own.

They shared some laughter inside the ring, but the next time they work the mitts, they better put their headgear on.

It’s just eight days to the fight, and it’s the right time for Pacquiao to slow down. But Roach seems to be having trouble asking his ward to do that.

He said he’ll try.

“I have to. I have to slow him down,” said Roach.

Roach was asked if it was possible for Pacquiao to even slow down as they wrap up the final days of training for the May 7 fight with Shane Mosley.

“Somewhat,” said the trainer, “but not as much as I would like.”

Roach thinks Pacquiao is done with all the hard work, the lung-busting roadwork, the heavy sparring, and now he’s ready for battle.

“He’s ready to go. He’s sharp. He knows the game plan very well. He’s a hundred percent ready,” said Roach, still insisting it won’t be an easy fight.

The mitts session went on non-stop, and when Roach asked Pacquiao to get some water, the boxing icon said, “Are you tired?”

“Nope,” Roach shot back.

“Oh boy, I can’t get a f***g break here,” Roach added, breathing heavily in one corner.

Pinoy scribes told him later on he appeared like he was going to quit.

“It won’t happen. We had a great workout and had fun doing it. It was a good day. He came in a little bit late today. I thought I could wear him out today,” said Roach.

One other concern, the celebrated trainer said, is Pacquiao getting a little too low on his weight, saying he weighed in at 147 after the workout.

But it could be even be lower than that.

“Payat nga ako (Yes, I’m light). Pero mataba naman ang suntok ko (But my punches are heavy),” said Pacquiao.

Later on, after the workout, inside the dressing room, he told Pinoy scribes he was just making sure all bases are covered heading to the fight.

“Ganado ako (I’m eager). Naniniguro lang,” he said.“Napagod din ako (I got tired, too).”

If he was, he didn’t show it, even when Roach had called it a day.

“One more round?” he begged his coach.

“No. I’m done,” was the only answer he got.