‘Di tatagal ang laban--Roach

MANILA, Philippines - Hindi magtatagal ang pakikipag-upakan ni Manny Pacquiao laban kay Jeff Horn at asahang magkakaroon ng knockout, ayon kay trainer Freddie Roach.

Tiniyak naman ng Australian challenger na siya ay “ready for war”.

Maraming boxing fans ang umaasang magaang na tatalunin ng legendary Filipino fighter si Horn sa harap ng 50,000 manonood sa Suncorp Stadium sa Brisbane, Australia sa Linggo.

“He (Manny) doesn’t like to predict knockouts and so forth but I think it is going to be short and sweet,” wika ni Roach sa mga reporters sa isang press conference para sa World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight bout. “I think it won’t last too long and someone will get knocked out.”

Sinabi ni Roach na ang laban kay Horn ay isang ‘stepping stone’ ng eight-weight world champion para makatiyak ng rematch kay American rival Floyd Mayweather, Jr. na tumalo kay Pacquiao sa “Fight of the Century” noong 2015.

Sumagot naman ang kampo ni Horn kung saan pinansin ng promoter ng dating school teacher ang madalas na pagtingin ni Pacquiao sa kanyang cellphone sa halos kabuuan ng kanilang press conference.

“Not only is Manny Pacquiao an eleven-time world champion... he is also a world champion texter, because he never gets off his bloody phone,” sabi ni Dean Lonergan.

Sinabi naman ni Glenn Rushton, ang trainer ni Horn, na mas-yadong binabalewala ng kampo ni Pacquiao ang kakayahan ng 29-anyos na challenger sa itinuring na “Battle of Brisbane” bilang “fight of the year”.

“My vision for this fight is it will be a late stoppage. I think it is going to occur late in the fight after... all of these rounds. I personally believe this will be the fight of the year,” wika ni Rushton.

“I do think Freddie and Manny are probably underestimating Jeff even though I know they say they are not because he is too experienced not to prepare properly. “But I do think when they get out there, it’s going to be so different. I think this will become Manny’s toughest fight... we’ve trained as hard as we’ve ever trained for this fight, so we’re ready for war.”

Sandaling nagretiro si Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 knockouts) noong nakaraang taon at sa kanyang comeback fight ay inangkin niya ang WBO welterweight title ni Jesse Vargas noong Nobyembre.