Manny Pacquiao celebrates at the end of the 12th round of his welterweight fight against Timothy Bradley Jr. on April 9, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo : Getty)
The rumored Manny Pacquiao vs Adrien Broner fight is gaining steam as of late. Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach also reiterated that he is interested in matching up Pacquiao with the former world champion.
Roach admitted that he has heard about the Pacquiao-Broner rumors and he has nothing against it. In fact, the veteran boxing coach told BoxingScene that he is excited to train the Filipino boxing again, saying that Pacquiao will surely knock Broner out in that big-money bout if it happens.
"The old Manny is coming back a little bit," Roach said, referring to the Pacquiao that took the boxing world by storm with his knockout victories. "I can't wait to see the fight and we'd be going for the knockout."
Roach said that fans will also love the matchup because Broner will likely go toe-to-toe with the former pound-for-pound king. The 26-year-old Broner could gain an advantage if the rumored bout becomes a reality since he is much younger than the 37-year-old Pacquiao.
However, Roach is confident that Pacquiao will emerge victorious. He said that Broner's fighting style is tailor-made for Pacquiao and that the Ohio native is not difficult to hit unlike Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao's biggest rival.
It remains to be seen, though, whether or not Pacquiao will fight again. The former eight-division world champion announced his retirement after scoring a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley in April. He was then elected as senator in the Philippines and declared that he will focus on his political career.
Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum recently told Las Vegas Review Journal that Pacquiao wants to fight again if it will not affect his job in the senate. But in case the future Hall of Famer decides to come out of retirement, Arum already reserved Oct. 15 for Pacquiao's next fight.
Arum also confirmed that they are considering Broner for Pacquiao's next fight along with Danny Garcia, the reigning World Boxing Council welterweight champion. Both Broner and Garcia are under Al Haymon, but Arum said that he is now willing to work with his rival.
"I'll work with [Haymon] in a sense that we're gonna put animosity aside because it's stupid," Arum said. "Now that we settled lawsuits, if we have a fighter that fights in something that he wants to do and it fits, why not?"
Watch Broner's career highlights below.
