MANILA – Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach decided to go separate ways after 17 years of boxer-trainer partnership that produced eight world championships in as many divisions.
The Filipino boxing legend reinstated Buboy Fernandez as trainer for his upcoming match against Lucas Matthysse in Malaysia on July 15, according to his agent Michael Koncz.
“Manny (Pacquiao) told me that Buboy will be handling the training on this fight,” Koncz told ESPN on Thursday.
The relationship between Pacquiao and Roach turned sour after the latter tried to recommend that the former retire after the unanimous-decision loss to Australian Jeff Horn last year.
Roach started training Pacquiao in mid-2001 when the Filipino boxer captured the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight title by beating Lehlo Ledwaba at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“What’s important to Manny is that he has one voice to listen to in the corner that he trusts, and I guess that’s Buboy for this fight (against Matthysse,” Koncz added.
During their nearly two decades of partnership Pacquiao scored wins over legendary boxers Oscar De La Hoya, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, and Antonio Margarito./PN
