"Pacman" to train for Cotto in Philippines; Is it over with Freddie Roach?

(Manny Pacquiao doesn't win...he destroys. But for how long?)

With the biggest fight of his career against Miguel Cotto just 10 weeks away, the pound-for-pound king of the boxing world, Manny Pacquiao, has made interesting decision regarding his training for the bout. The "Pacman" has decided to leave go against his trainer Freddie Roach's advice to train in Mexico and train in his home country. This decision comes on the heels of news that Roach is growing more and more impatient with his champion's "Team Pacquiao" entourage. Roach says that his team distracting the fighter and training in the Philippines will only make the problem worse.

This is definitely an interesting development considering the magnitude and importance of this fight. With the Mayweather/Marquez fight having serious troubles selling tickets and garnering interest, the future of the sport of boxing weigh heavily on two of the most popular boxers on the planet. Cotto is already 3 weeks into his training camp and Pacquiao just decided where he is going to be doing his training? Has the humble superstar begun to develop an dangerous ego, or is team that accompanies him everywhere altering his focus? Roach seems to believe the latter and has threatened to break ties all together if things don't change.

This rift between trainer and fighter could ultimately lead Pacquiao down the the unpredictable road that Mike Tyson traveled. Granted, the circumstances are extremely different, but the similarities are very striking. Despite what Team Pacquiao advisor Mike Koncz thinks, the trainer is invaluable to a fighter. When Tyson's trainer Cus D'Amato died, the seemingly unbeatable heavyweight lost his way and ultimately ruined his career. In the 2009 documentary "Tyson", he credited D'Amato with turning his life around. With Pacquiao, Roach has helped the fighter to sharpen his skills to a point where he looks absolutely unbeatable. The trainer's job extends far beyond the ability to get a fighter physically prepared for 30+ minutes of war. He must have his fighter mentally conditioned to understand his opponent, his tendencies and make adjustments if something unexpected comes up. A fighter that goes into a fight without being mentally prepared can lead to devastating consequences (see De la Hoya/Pacquiao).

For Koncz to say that Roach is "just a trainer" should be a giant red flag for Manny Paciquao that maybe this man shouldn't be advising him. If Pacquiao goes into the fight against Cotto less than 100% mentally ready he risks getting beaten, and badly. Cotto will be much larger than Pacquiao come fight night and has shown that he has put the demons of his loss to Antonio Margarito behind him and is ready to return to the top of the sport. We've seen Cotto overcome adversity and pull out wins, most recently against Joshua Clottey where he was badly cut early in the fight. The last time we've really seen Pacquiao in trouble was the first Juan Manuel Marquez fight where he was wobbled by a power left. With Roach in his corner, we know he can overcome a situation that doesn't work in his favor. The result is much less clear for the "Pacman" if he switches trainers at this point. Dangerous, dangerous stuff considering what's at stake.