BT:  Boxingtalk is here with Freddie Roach, who trained Bernard Hopkins for his successful world light heavyweight title defense against Winky Wright.  Freddie, how do you feel about tonight's performance against Winky?

FR: I thought it was a really great performance.  Winky has a great jab, and all we had to do was take that away from him.  The thing we did with the feints, and the head movement, we took that away from him early.  I think he was lost in the fight without his jab."

BT:  Did Bernard do everthing you guys worked on in training tonight?   

FR:  He did that, and a little bit more.  He's a clever guy, and he's always got that trick up his sleeve.  There were a few combinations, and a lot of people didn't see there were real hard body shots.  He was landing them in the early rounds, believe me, I caught a few of them in training camp.  He's a strong guy.

BT:  What's the biggest difference between training Oscar, and training Bernard?

FR:  They are both very diciplined, hard working guys.  They are both champions, Hall of Famers.  There is not much of a difference, they are great guys to work with.  I enjoyed working with both of them.  I enjoyed Puerto Rico with Oscar, he's a real nice guy.  With Oscar, I didn't get hit quite as much.  With Bernard, sometimes he gets a little excited on the combination, and if there is an opening after I call a combination, he'll take it.  I've got a little cut under my eye, he knocked the wind out of me one day.  So, it's a little more physical, a few more cuts and bruises, here and there.  I learned that was part of getting him ready for a fight.

BT:  With Winky being a southpaw, was the use of the head part of the stategy that you guys came up with?

FR:  No.  When a southpaw and a righthander fight, you have headclashes.  They are very common.  There was nothing intentional there that I could see.  I don't think so.  Unfortunately, Winky was the one who got cut during the fight, because of the head clash.  I wasn't happy about that, but look at when  Pacquiao fought Marquez, another southpaw against a righty.  It happens all the time when lefties and righties fight.  It's a common occurance, there was nothing intentional, not at all, I don't think.

BT:  You mentioned Pacquiao.  How do you like that fight coming up with Barrera?  Is it easier this time around?

FR:  No, it's a tougher fight.  Anyone who thinks it's an easier fight is a fool.  Barrera's going to be coming for revenge, it might be his last fight.  He's said he's going to give us the fight of his life.  I'm going to have Pacquiao in the best shape of his life, because that's what it's going to take to win this fight.  I'm going to see Pacquiao tonight, and I'm going to start with him on Monday. 

BT:  Any word from James Toney?

FR:  No, unfortunately.  I heard he's suspended for a year, but I haven't talked to James in a while.

BT:  Are you guys still on good terms?

FR:  I believe so.

M

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