Roach okay with officials for Pacquiao-Bradley 3

LAS VEGAS – Freddie Roach sees no problem with the officials who will work Saturday’s fight (Sunday in Manila) between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which will supervise the bout, has appointed Moretti, Burt Clements and Steve Weisfeld as judges. None of the three were ringside to judge the first two Pacquiao-Bradley fights in 2012 and 2014.

Moretti had worked seven of Pacquiao’s fights, while Weisfeld was present during the Filipino’s fourth meeting with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

After Pacquiao tapered off his training in Los Angeles Monday (Tuesday in Manila) at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, he and Roach spoke to reporters about a myriad of topics.

And among those was the judging for Saturday’s main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas here. Bradley came away with a controversial decision during his initial encounter with Pacquiao in 2012, making judging a central issue in the rubber match.

Roach said there’s no cause for concern this time.

“I saw the judges, no [problem],” he told reporters.

Among the three judges, Clements raises a red flag, having committed a critical error in Pacquiao’s first fight with Marquez in 2004 that cost the Filipino a close victory.

Clements admitted he made a lapse when he failed to correctly tally the score for the first round where Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times. He put in 10-7 instead of 10-6, which eventually proved crucial as the fight ended up in a split draw.

But Roach says he’s also fine with Clements.

“People say they see things differently. I'm really not gonna judge, cause I'm personally not too good a judge either,” the cornerman added.

Roach likewise gave his stamp of approval for referee Robert Byrd, the third man in the ring for the upcoming fight.

“I know him (Byrd) well, he's a veteran. He's been around for a long time. So I think they're all fair. We should have no problem,” Roach said of Byrd, who incidentally was the third man in the ring in Pacquiao-Bradley 1.