Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring after an 11-month hiatus, and his Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach has declared that the Filipino ring icon will destroy American Brandon Rios on Sunday (Saturday night in the United States) in China.
"I hope they're overconfident, because Manny's going to destroy this guy," Roach told ESPN.com, referring to Rios and his camp who have vowed to put an end to Pacquiao's legendary career.
Roach, who is embroiled in a bitter fight against Rios' conditioning coach Alex Ariza, even brushed off Rios as someone who is not in the level of Pacquiao and calling the American fighter as a 'journeyman.'
"I don't feel like Brandon Rios can go the distance with the talent of Manny Pacquiao," Roach said. "I'm very confident about that. It's a world-class fighter going up against a guy who's maybe a journeyman at best."
Comparing Rios with Pacquiao's bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez, who scored a memorable knockout win against the Filipino last December, Roach said the American is not as skilled as the Mexican who fought Pacquiao to four memorable classics. "This is not the same class as Marquez. It's not the same ability as Marquez. I don't feel this guy. He's too slow."
It can be remembered that against Marquez, Pacquiao was in command of the fight until he caught a perfectly timed counter from the Mexican that knocked him out cold. Roach said that Pacquiao has learned his lesson of not being too aggressive and that should serve him well against Rios.
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