Roach: Pacquiao serious in goal to KO Broner

LOS ANGELES – Freddie Roach finally heard something from Manny Pacquiao that’s music to his ears.

Roach is elated to have heard Pacquiao categorically state that he is going for a knockout win against Adrien Broner in their showdown next week.

The bespectacled cornerman is back on board as a member of Pacquiao’s training team — this time as a consultant — and is looking forward to see Pacquiao register a knockout for the first time under his watch in almost a decade.

“You know he told me that he'll knock this guy out. He's never said that to me in my life. So I'm really happy where he's at now,” Roach told Filipino scribes Saturday after Pacquiao finally finished sparring at the Wild Card Gym here Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

With Roach as his trainer, Pacquiao hadn’t scored knockout since 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto. But when the Filipino icon  finally ended the slump with a seventh-round TKO win over Lucas Matthysse last year, Roach was no longer in his corner.

Now, Roach is eager to personally witness Pacquiao’s return to his old, fiery form.

“I think after years (without a knockout), he felt good (with the Matthysse win). He may have missed that,” added Roach.

Broner, meanwhile, has never been stopped in his career. But as the saying goes, there’s always a first time.

Roach, for his part, thinks the bout won’t go past nine rounds — his lucky number.

“I like him (Pacquiao) by knockout. If he lands his shots like he did today (in sparring), he will,” he said.

“If a knockout comes, I'm happy. But I'm really happy that he wants a knockout. We haven't heard this. I think the killer instinct is back.”