What makes Pacquiao and Roach tick as boxer-trainer?

MANILA, Philippines - For sometime now, Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach have been the most successful tandem in the field of prizefighting. So what makes the boxer-trainer duo click? It’s all a matter of give and take. “Nagpapalitan kami ng idea sa training," the world’s pound for pound king Pacquiao bared. “Kung may isang bagay o galaw na tingin ko hindi ako komportable, sinasabi ko sa kanya. Nakikinig din naman siya sa akin." Take the case of Pacquiao’s crushing second round technical knockout win over Ricky Hatton over the weekend in Las Vegas. The Filipino boxing star said he personally studied the style and movement of the 30-year-old Englishman and discussed and trained with Roach their fight plan to utilize more both his right and left hooks. The ploy worked perfectly. A short right hook initially sent Hatton down to the canvas with a minute left in the opening round, before finally nailing him with a powerful left hook that flattened the three-time world champion for good. “Nung pag-bitaw ko ng kaliwa at tumama sa panga niya," said Pacquiao, pointing to the exact area where he landed the killer blow," alam ko hindi na siya tatayo." “Naramdaman ko kasi yung impact nung suntok hanggang dito," he added, moving his right index finger and touching his left shoulder. Roach agreed with Pacquiao. “I knew that once Manny hurt him, it’s over. Everything went as planned. No surprise," he said. The partnership between the two had been at it for over eight years now since Pacquiao came in as a last minute replacement to challenge Lehlo Ledwaba for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-bantamweight title. Pacquiao knocked out the African champion inside six rounds to seize the crown and built the foundation of their winning alliance. Except for a unanimous decision loss to Erik Morales in 2005, the Pacquiao-Roach tandem has racked up 20 wins in 21 fights, a stretch that includes victories over great fighters such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton. “There should be a perfect bond between trainer and boxer and they should begin to build it time and time again," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who owns the promotional right on Pacquiao. Roach has been humble to admit that Pacquiao makes him “look good." “The reason why they think of me as a best trainer, it’s because I have the best fighter in the world," he stressed. On June 12 in New York, both Pacquiao and Roach will be conferred the 2008 Fighter and Trainer of the Year award by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). The honor is the second in three years for the two after also being bestowed the same recognition in 2006. –GMANews.TV