By Robert Morales

Fighters sometimes never get over a brutal knockout. Manny Pacquiao is not built like that.

Six and a half years ago, Pacquiao was knocked coldby Juan Maneul Marquez, falling face-first in the sixth round of their fourth fight in December 2012 in Las Vegas. The violent ending scared Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach.

But Roach this week told yours truly during a telephone conversation he is not one bit surprised that Pacquiao remains a world-class fighter at age 40.

“One thing I’ve learned about Manny Pacquiao along the way – and I learned that before that knockout happened – is that he knows that being knocked out is part of life and part of the sport,” said Roach, who will be in Pacquiao’s corner when Pacquiao takes on undefeated Keith “One Time” Thurman in a welterweight title fight July 20 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Fox pay-per-view).

“He understands it, and he accepts it. He accepts losing better than any fighter I’ve ever seen.”

Pacquiao has proved that more than once.

He took nearly a year off after the KO loss to Marquez before going on a three-fight winning streak, again becoming welterweight champion. Pacquiao then lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a snooze-fest in which Pacquiao fought with an injured shoulder.

No problem.

Pacquiao again became champion with a win over Jessie Vargas before again losing his title, this time to Jeff Horn. Undaunted, Pacquiao at age 39 won another world title with a seventh-round TKO of hard-hitting Lucas Matthysse and defended it with a decision over Adrien Broner.

Impressive, indeed. But Roach will still never forget that night when Pacquiao fell to the canvas as if he were chopped down like a tree. No one yelled, “Timber,” but that’s what it was like.

“When he got knocked out by Marquez, that was really a bad knockout,” Roach said. “I thought he was on the canvas way too long. I was even worried that he might be seriously hurt.”

Once Pacquiao got back to his locker room, he was grilled by Roach because Roach was still concerned.

“He answered everything correctly,” Roach said. “He knew where he was, he knew he was knocked out and what had happened.”

Roach asked Pacquiao if he wanted him (Roach) or his wife Jinkee to go with him in the ambulance to the hospital to get checked. Pacquiao said he wanted his wife. Then he told Roach he wanted to first wash his face.

“And I said, ‘Why?’ Roach said. “He said, ‘Because I have blood on my face.’ And I said, ‘Oh, he’s aware of everything.’ I wasn’t too worried about him after he told me that.”

By that time, Pacquiao had twice defeated Marquez in close fights that went the distance; their first fight in 2004 was scored a split draw. Marquez thought he won both fights he lost, so to dispatch Pacquiao the way he did had to be the highlight of his marvelous career.

It didn’t keep Pacquiao down, though.

Having himself dealt with knockouts during his career, Roach can’t say enough about how Pacquiao handled that dreadful moment in his storied career.

“I know, myself, because when I was knocked out for the first time, I was never the same,” Roach said. “I know that for a fact. It affected me badly. At one time I would have told you nobody in the world could knock me out. But then after it happened, it changed my life. … And I didn’t accept it like Manny Pacquiao did.”

Roach suffers from Parkinson’s. Doctors have told him he could have contracted it because he was a boxer. He has trained Pacquiao since 2001.

By the way, how did Roach know Pacquiao could handle a knockout loss? When the two first hooked up, Pacquiao showed Roach tapes of two early fights – in 1996 and 1999 – in which he had been stopped inside the distance.

Oh, and for the record, Roach said Pacquiao still wants another shot at Mayweather.

Pacquiao vs. Thurman

Thurman, 30, is a talented fighter. But he’s fought only five times over the past four years, and Roach believes Pacquiao has all the tools to hand Thurman (29-0, 22 KOs) his first loss.

“I think they’re really good,” Roach said of Pacquiao’s chances. “Thurman’s a little bit slowed, he’s faded a little bit.”

Roach noted that Thurman really had to work to defeat Josesito Lopez in his most recent fight in January that resulted in a majority-decision victory over someone who entered with seven defeats.

“Can he get his confidence back?” Roach wondered about Thurman. “I’m going to have Manny go out quick and put it on him right away and remind him of what he doesn’t like about the sport.”

Article courtesy of Robert Morales & The Daily News