Manny Pacquiao Bound To Become No.1 Pound-for-Pound Again, Freddie Roach Believes; Brandon Rios Ready For Pacman 'At His Prime'

Manny Pacquiao has the capacity to return to the top of his game and claim his old position as the pound-for-pound king. This is the statement made by five-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach in an interview with Rappler earlier this week.

Pacquiao is now in the crucial stage of his preparation for his upcoming welterweight showdown with Brandon Rios and Roach so far likes what he saw from his prized fighter.

"[Pacquiao's] really fresh right now. He's really anxious to get back in the ring. He's hungry," Roach told Rappler.com's Natashya Gutierrez at PacMan's Wild Card Gym in General Santos City, according to Manila Times.

"Well, he's very excited. He wanted to fight earlier, I wanted him to fight a little bit later. The time off [was] good for him," the trainer added.

Veteran boxing commentator Larry Merchant also believed Pacquiao is capable of climbing back to the top of the rankings, adding that the eight-division world champion has the resilience to pull off a pretty good second chapter of his boxing career.

"I think Pacquiao has the resilience to rebound from that loss to [Juan Manuel] Marquez. Other great fighters have done it before. Maybe Manny could do it too. Let's see," Merchant said in a previous phone interview with Manila Times.

"Will he be gun-shy when he faces Rios, or will he the same aggressive, explosive Manny Pacquiao the fans are used to?" he added.

Pacquiao is coming off two straight setbacks at the hands of Timothy Bradley (12-round split decision loss) and Juan Manuel Marquez (6^th round TKO) last year. A win against Brandon Rios would certainly put Pacman back to contention while a loss could end his legendary boxing career.

Meanwhile, reigning Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia said Brandon Rios has been preparing very well for the fight of his career.

Garcia, who also trained Mikey Garcia and pound-for-pound contender Nonito Donaire, said he has been training Rios to fight a Pacman at his prime.

"Manny Pacquiao's done so much in boxing that we've got to admire and be [wary always].  So we're training for the Pacquiao that has done everything. The Pacquiao that is so fast, and so powerful, and who has knocked everybody out," Garcia said in an interview with veteran boxing writer Chris Robinson.

The Pacquiao vs. Rios showdown is scheduled on November 23 at Venetian Macao in Macau, China.