Manny Pacquiao (L) sits in his corner with trainer Freddie Roach between rounds of their welterweight championship fight against Manny Pacquiao on April 9, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo : Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Freddie Roach always knew Manny Pacquiao is going to make a comeback right after his last fight with Timothy Bradley, the award-winning trainer told George Gigney of Boxing News Online.
Roach, who molded the Filipino fighter into becoming a menacing force in eight division, believes it's all about the time for Pacquiao in terms of potential showdown with jr. welterweight kingpin Terrence Crawford.
While Pacquiao vs. Crawford is a much intriguing fight, Roach prefers another fighter for his ward since he won't have that much time to train under his tutelage at the Wildcard Gym at this time of the year.
"I always said he would fight again. Right after his last fight we spoke about it and he said he would most likely fight again. He still has a lot left," Roach told Boxing News.
"At the moment everyone is mentioning Terence Crawford but I don't like that fight for November. Almost the entire training camp would be in the Philippines, we wouldn't be able to fly back to the States until 12 days before the fight.
Roach admitted that he would require Pacquiao to be in 100 percent in order to stand a chance against the two-fisted Crawford, who is just coming off a 12-round unanimous decision win over Victor Postol.
"We'll also be training in the evenings because Manny will be working in the senate all day, so it won't be the best camp. Crawford is a great athlete and I wouldn't want Manny going into that fight if he's not 100 percent."
"I want the November fight to be more of a warm up fight and then for Manny to fight again shortly after - I want it to be a two fight deal."
The 37-year old Pacquiao recently announced his decision to return to the ring after bagging a seat in the Philippine senate last May. The fighting Senator out of Saranggani is reportedly targeting a world title in his first bout from retirement.
