Manny Pacquiao’s trainer declares Horn can’t win

Legendary trainer Freddie Roach says he respects Jeff Horn but says the Australian can’t beat Manny Pacquiao.

Trainer Freddie Roach works with charge Manny Pacquiao. Courtesy: Top Rank.

Legendary trainer Freddie Roach says he respects Jeff Horn. Then you ask him whether Horn can beat Manny Pacquiao. Whether the Queensland schoolteacher can knock off the Filipino legend.

Whether a guy with 17 fights under his belt can pull off one of the biggest upsets in the sport by beating the current WBO welterweight champion, a legend of the sport.

“Nope,” Roach shoots back.

“He can go back to school teaching. He has a good job there. He will realise he has bitten off more than he can chew. There’s nothing he can bring to the table that we haven’t seen before.

“Experience-wise he is going to be overwhelmed. I hope he comes out hard. I hope he brings it. I hope he fights the fight of his life because he is going to need to if he wants to survive.”

A little over two weeks remain before Horn and Pacquiao lock horns at Suncorp Stadium on July 2, a fight which is expected to attract more than 50,000 people. The vast majority of them will be pulling for the underdog Australian, despite Roach’s claims that they will be coming to watch the 11-time world champion.

“I don’t really care how many people come,” Roach said.

“I don’t think one person is going to be there for Horn. I think they are going to be there for Pacquiao. Fighting at home isn’t an advantage.

“Fighting at home sucks. Do you know how many tickets he will have to get for friends? Your family gets bigger before big fights. Fighting on the road is easier. The crowd does not win the fight.

“Throwing punches wins the fight.”

Horn took time out from his preparations yesterday to watch the Queensland State of Origin ruby league team train on the Gold Coast, talking with players and high performance staff.

At the end of the session Dylan Napa handed him a Maroons jersey, towering over the world champion-in-waiting. Horn was offered tickets by the QRL for Origin II in Sydney but he’s not flying anywhere until after the July 2 bout — planes are germ carriers, and airports are full of them too.

Asked about how he keeps his mind off impending bout, Horn said: “So I just try to keep everything normal. I do everyday things and I keep my weekend free for the family like most others do.

“I spend time with my wife, walk the dog, do whatever I need to kind of keep my mind off the fight.” Pacquiao is expected to hit town on Sunday week and he will arrive in tiptop shape according to Roach. Earlier this week, he peaked in his training by smashing out 12 rounds of sparring.

So pleased was Roach with Pacquiao’s preparations, he gave the welterweight champion time off to recharge his batteries. Horn has a mountain to climb. Roach is tipping him to fall under an avalanche of punches.

“We’ll be in Australia and ready to go,” Roach said.

“Manny is 100 per cent in shape, he is ready to go. He is already on weight. It doesn’t matter who is in front of us — we train the same. Our opponent says there is no difference between the two but he moves a lot slower and we’re going to show it.

“We have a good game plan. We know what he can do and what he can’t do. We know what he is showing us and what he is not showing us. Whatever it takes we will do.”

“We’re ready, we’re coming to win. Jeff Horn, I am not sure. His trainer has been telling me how great he is. We will see. We’ll see who is smiling after the fight.”