Roach: Game over in 3

BRISBANE, Australia – Freddie Roach wants to see Jeff Horn down and out inside three rounds.

“I think two or three rounds,” he said on the eve of the fight.

Manny Pacquiao remained the heavy 6-1 favorite to retain his WBO welterweight crown on Sunday noon here in Brisbane and keep his place in the boxing world.

But there’s pressure on Pacquiao scoring a knockout because he hasn’t had any since he forced the wide-bodied Miguel Cotto into submission in 2009.

Roach said Horn struggling to make weight almost meant half the job is done.

“We will jump on him really, really quick. I’m gonna tell Manny to put it on right away and work on that body as hard as he can,” said Roach.

“He had trouble making weight and now he’s going to blow up. They say he’s gonna be like 172 by fight time. That won’t help him. The heavier he gets, the happier I am,” he added.

Pacquiao weighed in at 146 pounds, and should climb ring no heavier than 156 pounds

“Anything more than 10 pounds after the weigh-in will slow you down. So, I know Jeff Horn is gonna go out quick. He’s gonna try to knock Manny out in the first round. To me that’s his only chance,” Roach said.

The Australian camp remained as confident as ever.

“We just have to stay in the moment and be mistake-free tomorrow. It’s very important to be mistake-free.

Don’t do anything foolish and do everything right,” said trainer Glenn Rushton.

The 59-year-old investment adviser and boxing trainer/manager on the side is calling the biggest sporting event in Australian history as “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”

“We’re looking for a conclusion in the latter stages. I think Jeff can knock Manny Pacquiao out in the latter rounds,” he told reporters here.

“I don’t think they know how good Jeff really is. I think all of that is going to dawn very early on Manny. Once he gets through the first two or three rounds, he is going to go back to his corner and say this isn’t going to be an easy day at the office,” said Rushton.

Roach thinks otherwise.