By CARLO ANOLIN
From one legend to another.
For Hall of Famer boxing trainer Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao is just the greatest boxer of all time
Taking it to his social media accounts, Roach has nothing but good words to his long-time student, who officially announced his retirement from the sport Wednesday, Sept. 29.
“Legendary. Manny, you are EVERYTHING that defines a legend in this sport. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your historic and legendary career. YOU ARE THE GREATEST,” wrote the 61-year-old Roach, who molded Pacquiao to become the only eight-division world boxing champion.
After 26 years in the professional boxing scene, the 42-year-old Pacquiao decided to hang up his gloves for good in a video announcement posted on his social media channels.
Roach was one of the many personalities who hinted at Pacquiao’s retirement following his unanimous loss to Cuban Olympic boxer Yordenis Ugas for the super WBA welterweight title.
“He’s the best customer I’ve ever had. He’s the best guy, the best fighter. You know, I hate to see the day that he will retire but this could be it,” said Roach during the post-match press conference last August 21 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before his official announcement, the fighting senator earlier showed signs of his retirement during an interview with television personality and host Toni Gonzaga.
In that interview, Pacquiao, who owns a 62-8-2 record on top of 39 knockouts, not only recalled his historic career inside the ring but also admitted that his “boxing career is over.”
As for the Roach and Pacquiao, the two have gone a long way since 2001 and eventually became one of the most successful fighter-trainer duos in boxing and combat sports history.
Like any other relationship, they also experienced a rough patch as mentor and apprentice which lasted for a year from 2017 to 2018.
In January 2019 though, after Pacquiao knocked out Lucas Mattyhsse in July 2018, Roach returned to the Filipino legend’s corner this time against Adrien Broner.
Pacquiao did not disappoint and scored a unanimous decision win against the American boxer and since then rode on a three-match win streak since beating Keith Thurman via split decision in July 2019 en route to the super WBA welterweight title.
