Freddie Roach backs Olympic cameo for Manny Pacquiao if pros allowed to rumble in Rio

Veteran trainer Freddie Roach has vowed to back Manny Pacquiao if the boxer decides to take advantage of rule changes which could see professional fighters allowed to take part in this summer’s Olympics.

Pacquiao said on Wednesday he was yet to decide on whether he would pursue a spot in the Philippines Olympic team, appearing to pull back from an earlier statement in which he said he would be honoured to fight in Rio.

“I’m not saying a yes or a no,” Pacquiao said. “I’m not closing the door. I have to think about it and I’m still thinking about it. It’s good to let professionals in the Olympics.”

The eight-time world champion said earlier this month he had been “personally invited” to Rio by Wu Ching-Kuo, president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), the governing body for amateur boxing.

Proposed changes to AIBA statutes, set to be put to a vote at a special congress of AIBA confederations at the end of May, could leave Olympic eligibility in the hands of the national boxing federations.

Pacquiao, who is preparing for what is being billed as his farewell fight against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas on April 9, is planning to transition into Philippines politics when he hangs up his gloves.

However, the prospect of becoming his nation’s first ever Olympic gold medallist is likely to be a powerful lure for the 37-year-old.

The Philippines has won a total of nine bronze and silver medals at the Olympics since the 1928 games in Amsterdam, five of them in boxing.