Roach blasts prospect for calling out Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Freddie Roach has retorted to the boxing prospect who called out Manny Pacquiao the other day and even criticized the Filipino icon for “lacking fundamentals”.

Speaking to Steve Kim of boxingscene.com, Roach said Errol Spence Jr. is simply not in Pacquiao’s league at the moment.

“Errol Spence is a good fighter. I met him in the Olympic training center. He was one of the best fighters on the (2012) team,” Roach recalled of the 26-year-old Spence, who impressively stopped Chris Algieri in the fifth round over the weekend.

Algieri was the same fighter who went down six times against Pacquiao in 2014 in Macau but still lasted the distance.

Spence (20-0, with 17 knockouts), for his part, has been bragging about how he accomplished something Pacquiao and British star Amir Khan couldn’t.

“I put on a performance that Manny Pacquiao didn’t do and Amir Khan didn’t do. They didn’t stop Chris Algieri,” Spence stressed.

But Roach said the young fighter is biting off more than he can chew.

“He (Spence) looked good against (Chris) Algieri the other night but he can't carry Manny Pacquiao's bags,” said Pacquiao’s longtime cornerman.

Pacquiao himself looked fresh in outgunning Timothy Bradley last April 12 in Las Vegas, scoring two knockdowns en route to a convincing victory. He later announced his retirement.

Spence, meanwhile, blasted Pacquiao for his inferior boxing skills.

“It goes back to what my coach said, ‘Manny Pacquiao – he’s a hard puncher. He’s quick but he lacks fundamentals,'” Spence said.

Roach, on the other hand, dared Spence to take on other fighters better than Algieri before positioning himself for Pacquiao.

“Manny's getting older, he's retired now and Errol's up and coming. He might have a little youth on Manny, Manny has a lot of experience and he has to just get in line. Fight a real fight first and then you can show me something,” Roach added.

Roach previously told reporters after the Bradley fight in Las Vegas that he prefers a showdown between Pacquiao and rising star Terence Crawford.