FREDDIE ROACH

Saying he is “very unhappy,” Freddie Roach on Thursday expressed fears that if Manny Pacquiao decides to set up training camp in the Philippines - and not someplace else like in the mountains of Mexico - the fighter won’t get the kind of preparation that would ensure his victory against Miguel Cotto on November 14.

“It’s absurd to train in the Philippines,” blared out Roach in an interview with The Bulletin as the Hall of Fame trainer brushed off suggestions that Baguio be used as an alternate camp to the Wild Card in Hollywood.

“Cotto is going to be the toughest fight and anyone who says that it’s going to be easy is a f_____ idiot!”

Roach, who began training Pacquiao in mid-2001, said he “knows what’s best for my fighter.”

“Manny needs a real training camp,” said Roach, mentioning the Mexican city of Toluca, which is 8,793 feet above sea level, as the best choice to set up camp.

Toluca, where the outside temperature during the months of September and October hovers from a high of 21 degrees Celsius to a low of seven degrees, can be reached from Mexico City in less than an hour by land.

Roach had a taste of training Pacquiao in the Philippines in Oct. 2007 when he set up camp in Cebu as they were revving up for Marco Antonio Barrera.

“There were lots of distractions and there’d be a lot more now since Manny is ten times more popular,” said Roach.

Even if Pacquiao trains daily under his watchful eyes, Roach is not sure if Pacquiao will stay focused.

“The governor might fly him out during the weekends,” said Roach without naming anyone in particular although he could be referring to former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, who owns a private jet and is close friend and confidant of the boxer.

Pacquiao is being advised to limit the number of his stay on US territory owing to an IRS provision called the Substantial Presence Test which mandates non-resident aliens like Pacquiao to limit their number of stay in a three-year period. It has been discovered that Pacquiao has exceeded the number of days allowed and if he decides to spend the entire eight-week training camp in the US, he will be taxed heavily.

Top Rank head Bob Arum first suggested the Bahamas as a possible site then mentioned the resort cities of Nuevo Vallarta and Cancun in Mexico as options. Vancouver in Canada was also mentioned but the constant rains there forced his handlers to rule it out.

Pacquiao hasn’t decided where to train for the Cotto fight although he has mentioned Baguio as an option since he is still heavily involved in the shooting of his movie, TV shows, and commercials.