Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao's longtime boxing trainer, will return to be in the Filipino's corner for his upcoming pay-per-view fight against Adrien Broner.
The two will be working towards Pacquiao's next fight, which will see him defend his WBA "regular" welterweight title against Broner on January 19, 2019. The fight will take place at the MGM Grand on Showtime pay-per-view.
Pacquiao initially stated that Roach would work with him for the fight after the two weren't involved with one another for Pacquiao's knockout win over Lucas Matthysse. In Roach's place for that fight was Buboy Fernandez, who is Pacquiao's longtime friend and previously was his assistant trainer for his past fights. But Roach said he was unaware that he would be working with Pacquiao when he made the announcement in a press conference earlier in the week.
It wasn't until the two sat down and had a lengthy meeting that ultimately resulted in Roach agreeing to reconcile and work together. Roach later sent a text message to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, confirming the news. The two have worked together for well over a decade with Roach being a key factor in Pacquiao winning several world titles across multiple weight classes.
“Manny reached out directly,” Roach said. “We sat together one-on-one. I’ll be in his corner January 19.”
This will be the first time Roach is involved with Pacquiao in preparation for a fight since Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title to Jeff Horn in summer of 2017. Pacquiao will be fighting in the United States since 2016 when he defeated Jessie Vargas to win the WBO title.
