Friction with Freddie Roach? Just following Pacquiao’s orders, Buboy clarifies

Manny Pacquiao’s current head trainer acknowledged some people in their circle were surprised when Pacquiao brought back Freddie Roach to the team, albeit in a supervisory capacity.

“Medyo na-surprise talaga kami. Wala kaming kahina-hinalang may ganu’ng desisyong gagawin,” Buboy Fernandez said in an article posted on Philboxing.com.

Fernandez clarified allegations they are opposing Roach’s return, adding that his team will follow his best friend’s orders.

“Sino ba kami para mag-oppose sa desisyon ng boss?” said Fernandez, who saw Pacquiao bring his knockout prowess back when Pacquiao knocked out Lucas Matthysse in July.

For now, Fernandez’s team oversees Pacquiao’s training even without Roach, who will step in during the latter stage of training.

• READ: ‘Yes it’s true’: Roach says he’ll be in Pacquiao’s corner vs Broner

Fernandez said he believes the current team completed its mission when it engineered Pacquiao’s victory over Matthysse.

“Hindi naman sa kami’y nagyayabang or something to that effect, but we, this team, believe we’ve just found a way to bring Manny back to his old fighting form during his last fight against Matthysse, whom he knocked out to win back the welterweight title na hindi nagawa noong nakalipas na siyam na taon,” he said.

He is confident Pacquiao can repeat the same performance when he defends his world welterweight title against Adrien Broner on January 19.

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