Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugás: One-on-One with Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach

By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

Freddie Roach didn’t get to be described as the world’s greatest boxing trainer without paying attention to detail, which is how, a few years back, he found himself trying to answer a question he never expected to come his way.

"I had to figure it out," Roach told me via telephone this week. "What happens if someone punches the president of the Philippines?"

Turns out, as you’d hope, that such things are vehemently frowned upon and to do so would be to invite penalties harsh enough that you wouldn’t want to think about them.

As for the reason Roach wanted to know, well, it was because of how it might impact his own future and that of his fighter Manny Pacquiao, who, more than a decade back, was taking his initial steps into the Filipino political sphere.

Even back then, Roach knew enough about Pacquiao to realize that if things went well there would be no end to his ambition. Furthermore, having been to the Philippines and seen first-hand the rampant adulation the nation has for its cherished boxing son, Roach felt Pacquiao might turn out to be an unstoppable candidate.

And the president of the Philippines can’t continue to be a fighter … if no one is allowed to hit him.

So here we are now, with Pacquiao at 42 years old and certainly in the twilight of his fighting career, yet still one of the best and biggest attractions in the sport. This weekend, he will take on Yordenis Ugás on FOX Sports PBC pay-per-view (order today!) after a blockbuster showdown with Errol Spence was scrapped due to an untimely Spence injury.

Following the fight, talk will immediately turn to his other profession. Pacquiao has served in the House of Representatives as congressman for Sarangani province, as senator, and until recently, he was president of the ruling PDP-Laban party, before being ousted following criticism of the reigning Duterte administration over their policies toward China.

However, politics is as confusing in the Philippines as everywhere else in the world, and his departure from the position – most pundits accept – actually better situates him for a presidential run next year.

If he wins the highest office, that’s the end of boxing, right? Especially if, as Roach found out, laying a glove on Pacquiao would suddenly constitute some form of treasonous act?

"Well, apparently Manny could sign a waiver and still fight," Roach laughed. "The funny thing is, I used to wonder and worry about how Manny would be affected in the ring as his political career got bigger and bigger. But he’s as good as he ever was and he works as hard as ever. It’s amazing to see how he does it.

"You’d figure that being president of a country would stop him from fighting but I wouldn’t be so sure. He loves to fight and he knows it’s what he does best. He’s not slowing down and he wants to keep beating the best out there."

Pacquiao hasn’t lost in four years and even that setback, a defeat to little-known Australian Jeff Horn, was a highly contentious decision that was met with widespread criticism. Before that, his most recent loss was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their mega-money welterweight clash in 2015.

He is a strong favorite over Ugás (-450, per FOX Bet), an Olympic bronze medalist in Beijing in 2008, who is experiencing a late-career revival after quitting the sport seven years ago. Hopefully, the Pacquiao-Spence fight still gets made at a future point, pending Spence’s long-term health prognosis.

"Manny is not treating this guy lightly," Roach added. "Ugás has a lot to prove and has shown he is a quality fighter. Manny got himself into great shape and he wants to show that to everyone watching."

Ugás comes with a fine story of his own, having tried multiple times to defect from Cuba before finally being able to do so – each failed attempt landing him in a Havana prison. He took the Pacquiao fight on only 11 days' notice, having been preparing for a slot on the undercard at T-Mobile Arena.

Even so, all eyes will be on Pacquiao. It has been a heck of a career that will land him in the Hall of Fame in due course and features victories over a treasure trove of stars including Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and more.

Perhaps we are nearing the conclusion or perhaps not, depending on how he looks and the level of appetite he has for more. Perhaps the public service life will eventually get in the way as he hones in on the highest office in his homeland.

Or maybe, because it's Manny Pacquiao and he seems to squeeze 36 hours into every day, he’ll be able to pull it off and remain at the top of his boxing game while going through the process of running a country of 108 million people.

And then someone will get the chance to achieve the rare feat of being able to punch a president and get applauded for it. Be warned though. Pacquiao has been around forever and has two decades of work in those aging limbs, but he hits back – hard.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.