Baguio City: Freddie Roach, one of the world's finest boxing trainers, describes his relationship with Manny Pacquiao, the current toast of the boxing world, as a dream come true. But more than Pacquiao's brilliant achievements in the ring, it's actually his prized boxer's work ethic that Roach admires most.
"Working with Manny Pacquiao is a trainer's dream," Roach tells Gulf News in an exclusive interview during a break from their daily training regimen in Baguio City, Philippines.
"Manny is a machine. He really loves to work."
Video: A round with Manny Pacquiao
Roach explains that Pacquiao is the kind of boxer who always takes his training seriously. The boxing strategist recalls that many times, he had to caution Pacquiao from burning himself out in training.
"Manny has a tendency to over-train. I don't want that to happen, of course. He is one of the guys that I ask to slow down some times.
"I tell him that he needs to slow down because he works non-stop with no rest periods in between. He works really hard," says Roach.
Roach concedes though that "some days I let him do that. (But) in some days, I hold him back. I almost tackle him, ‘hey Manny' that's enough."
In pictures: Following Manny Pacquiao
The boxer-trainer relationship, though, has never been a bed of roses, Roach admits.
Although he says Pacquiao "is like a son" to him, Roach confesses that they have had their share of misunderstandings.
"We know each other pretty well, so we work these things out ourselves," Roach says.
Roach, who has been awarded ‘Trainer of the Year' by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2003, 2006 and 2008, has been recognised for developing the new facets in Pacquiao's boxing arsenal.
The American trainer has supervised Pacquiao's training in literally all of the Filipino boxer's big-time fights, devising the strategies that have helped Pacquiao overcome some of the greatest challenges in his storied boxing career.
