"Anderson is a very talented guy. He's a great guy to work with. He's a humble, great human being. I wish I could be like him. He's so calm, you know? I get excited sometimes and I get mad at people, but he's not that way. Silva's a great fighter...He wants to fight Roy Jones. He wants the big names. He's taking a big bite, but I respect him. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best," stated world-class trainer Freddie Roach as he talked about working with Anderson Silva and the possibility of a fight with Roy Jones Jr. Check out what else he had to say about Silva, Andrei Arlovski and much more.
TS: How has training been with Anderson Silva?
FR: Anderson is a very talented guy. He's a great guy to work with. He's a humble, great human being. I wish I could be like him. He's so calm, you know? I get excited sometimes and I get mad at people, but he's not that way. Silva's a great fighter. I know he has a fight coming up in Montreal. He wanted me and Michael Moorer to come to Brazil and help him get ready for it, but we were just too busy and the time and we couldn't make it, but he told me he wants to work together again some time soon, so we'll do it.
TS: So do you think there's a future for Anderson in boxing?
FR: Oh yes, for sure! Him and Andrei Arlovski, who's going to fight his first boxing match June 27th here in Los Angeles so Andrei will box for the first time in June.
TS: As far as Anderson Silva's career in mixed martial arts, do you think that he retires in MMA and he's definitely going to go straight to boxing or do you think he might just do both?
FR: No, I think if he goes into boxing, it'll have to be against the right guy. He wants to fight Roy Jones. He wants the big names. He's taking a big bite, but I respect him. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.
TS: In training with Anderson, what is it like?
FR: He's just like any other guy. He's a normal guy. He says, "Freddie, don't close the gym down. I like working around people." It's just work, you know? He's great. Real great attitude.
TS: Do you see any other fighters coming over...
FR: Well, I've had the great opportunity to train Penn. I've trained Sokoudjou. You know what? I'm lucky that I'm at the top of my game in boxing, so I get some good names in the MMA world of course. If I can help somebody be a better fighter, I'll do it. I don't care, I'll do it for free.
TS: As far as MMA is concerned as a sport, where do you see it going as far as the future compared to boxing?
FR: I think they can work together of course. I think we're going to have more mixed shows soon. I think in the audience, we have some MMA fans, some boxing fans and then you have the crossover fans that like both. It's like for me, a good fight is a good fight. People want me to hate MMA. I don't hate MMA. I mean, if it's a good fight, I like it, I like it. But in MMA, there's a difference. The ground game, I know there's a science to it, but I don't know the ground game that well myself. I know the stand-up game much better. The ground game does get maybe sometimes a little boring to some people, but people that are much more technical than I, I'm sure they appreciate it more than I do. But I like the stand-up, Andrei likes the stand-up and Anderson likes the stand-up also. My guys want to improve their hands so that's why we work together.
TS: Training with Pacquiao, do you know how he feels about MMA?
FR: I've never really asked him about it to be honest with you, but he's a fan of Anderson. Him and Anderson in the gym talk and him and Andrei are good friends, but I've never asked him to be honest with you.
TS: Thank you so much for taking the time to interview with me. I really appreciate it.
FR: Thank you. Thank you very much.