Pacquiao can handle Floyd, says Roach

Freddie Roach sees Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the least troublesome among fighters being groomed to face Manny Pacquiao.

"The easiest fight out of those three, in my opinion, is Mayweather," Roach told ace fight scribe Robert Morales in boxing scene. "The other two guys are way stronger, way more physical. Look at Mayweather; he struggled against (Oscar) De La Hoya and his fight with (Ricky) Hatton was competitive."

"And Manny killed both of those guys. I don’t care what the excuses are. A fact is a fact. He (Mayweather) won a split decision against De La Hoya. We didn’t lose a round to either," Roach said.

Pacquiao has been penciled to return on Oct. 17 against a foe yet to be named following an easy two-round destruction of Hatton last May 2.

Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico, Shane Mosley of the US and Mayweather are frontrunners although Top Rank chief Bob Arum believes a Mayweather fight with Pacquiao is not very likely to happen within the year.

Cotto fights Joshua Clottey on June 13 in New York, while Mayweather meets Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico on July 18 in Las Vegas and Team Pacquiao should be able to reach a decision as to who and where Pacquiao’s fight will be immediately afterwards.

Mayweather is being represented by Leonard Ellerbe and Al Haymon in the negotiating table, while Mosley is under the promotional banner of the De La Hoya-owned Golden Boy Promotions and Cotto is with Top Rank like Pacquiao.

Before his premature retirement in 2008, Mayweather was universally recognized as the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound.

Pacquiao is now the holder of that mythical title after a string of impressive wins against Marquez, David Diaz, De La Hoya and Hatton.

Pacquiao will be at ringside at Madison Square Garden when Cotto slugs it out with Clottey since he will root for Filipino title challenger Rodel Mayol in the undercard.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/202721