Manny Pacquiao is set to face Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing's pound-for-pound king, on May 2 and his trainer, Freddie Roach, views this fight as more than two superstars finally facing off. He called it a matchup of "good vs. evil."
Roach brought up Mayweather's history of domestic violence during an interview with USA Today Sports, and said both he and Pacquiao harbor strong dislike for Mayweather.
"Manny is really against domestic violence," Roach said. "It is a big issue maybe in the Philippines for him and being a congressman he can control some of that stuff. That is a big plus for me that Manny does not like the guy, I think the killer instinct is going to come back a lot faster."
Roach believes the combination of his history of violence against women, as well as his racist remarks several years ago and his previous accusations of PED use will all create a cocktail of anger inside the ring that he will use to hurt Mayweather like he hurt past opponents in his prime.
"(I see the fight as) good against evil, yes. I have even thought about bringing a couple of the metro cops from Vegas in to tell Manny how many times (Mayweather) has been arrested and how bad of a guy he is, but I decided I can't go that far. He already doesn't like him; I think we are OK. For the first time in my life with Manny Pacquiao, this is the first fighter he hasn't liked. I can tell."
Pacquiao is viewed as arguably the biggest threat yet to Mayweather's unbeaten record because of his uncommon combination of hand speed and power. Mayweather typically fights bigger, more powerful punchers that are slower of foot. Pacquiao is a different animal than them, and when Pacquiao has been motivated in the past, his offensive prowess is legendary.
While Mayweather might be showing slight signs of slowing down, he remains the premier defensive fighter in the sport, so Pacquiao will need every bit of his killer instinct to score an upset in Las Vegas on May 2.
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