Roach sees Pacquiao win by KO

That’s how Freddie Roach sees the ending of the Pacquiao-David Diaz showdown for the latter’s World Boxing Council lightweight crown on June 28 in Las Vegas.

“David Diaz is in for a rough evening in this meeting of vaunted sluggers and Manny will send him to dreamland only to awaken when gas prices goes interminably down,” Roach told Hermie Rivera of Philboxing on Monday (Tuesday in Manila).

Roach, however, believes the knockout won’t occur in the early stages of the 12-round pay-per-view showdown between noted sluggers.

“The end will come in the late rounds,” Roach said during a break in Pacquiao’s training at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

But Diaz’s strategy could nullify Roach’s bold prediction.

Based on Diaz’s pronouncements on his Chicago Sun-Times diary, the Mexican-American champion intends to go toe-to-toe with the WBC super featherweight titlist right at the start.

“It’s going to be a real throwback type of fight,” said Diaz, who opened training camp nearly two weeks ahead of Pacquiao at the JABB Gym in Chicago. “From the opening bell, we’ll be in the middle of the ring going at each other.”

Despite the big disparity in the number of their knockout victims (35 for Pacquiao, 17 for Diaz), Diaz believes he will keep the crown he first defended against Mexican Erik Morales, a two-time Pacquiao victim in their trilogy, last year.

Unlike Roach, however, Diaz never mentioned knocking out Pacquiao.'By Roy Luarca'