Freddie Roach has warned Jessie Vargas that Manny Pacquiao is as strong as ever heading into their bout on November 6.
The pair are due to meet in Las Vegas with Pacquiao, who is priced at 1.10, fighting for just the first time since his brief retirement after defeating Timothy Bradley back in April.
In his time away he has been elected to a seat in the senate of his home country the Philippines but he now has his focus back on boxing.
His fight with 7.50 outsider Vargas will see him go for the WBO welterweight title against the 27-year-old whose only previous loss in 28 professional fights came against Bradley last year.
Roach has worked with Pacquiao for the last 15 years and says he has been encouraged by his conditioning, most notably the power he seems to have rediscovered.
The trainer admits he has even been hurt a few times by the 37-year-old and has warned the impressive Vargas to expect a tough time when the pair meet in the ring.
“Vargas is a tough guy, a two-time world champion and pretty durable,” Roach told the Manila Times. “The only problem is he does not have a big punch.
“He’s doing a lot better and explosive and we are going to see a different Manny Pacquiao in November. In fact, he really hurt me during our mitts session as he almost ripped my body armour.
Those shots were really hard. “He’s getting near 100 percent. He’s now are least 90 percent ready. He did pretty well in sparring at eight and 10 rounds at the mitts. Manny is improving everyday and that is what training camp is all about.”
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