Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford Not 'Right Opponents' For Manny Pacquiao: Freddie Roach

Manny Pacquiao would be better off facing Jeff Horn in a rematch than facing the likes of pound-for-pound kings in Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford, according to his ex-coach Freddie Roach.

With four of his seven career losses coming in his previous nine fights leading up to his fight with Lucas Matthysse, many speculated another loss may signal the end of Pacquiao's career as he challenged for the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, earlier this month.

However, the Filipino would end up scoring his first knockout victory in nine years when he defeated Matthysse in the seventh round of their contest to take his record to 60-7 and become a world champion once again.

Following the win, Pacquiao discussed his next potential opponent with names ranging from a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, a bout with Amir Khan, and a contest against WBA lightweight champion Lomachenko.

There are also rumors of a fight with World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Crawford but Roach, who until recently was Pacquiao's striking coach, believes avenging a loss against Jeff Horn would make more sense.

Horn notably defeated Pacquiao via a controversial unanimous decision in July last year to win the WBO belt, which he then lost to Crawford.

"Horn would be a good fight to finish [his career]," Roach said, as per GMA News. "But the names they are talking about out there [Vasyl Lomachenko and Terence Crawford], I think they wouldn't be the right opponents. I think that I wouldn't like those fights for Manny."

Roach's concerns are understandable. Lomachenko and Crawford are on another level right now and could cause serious damage to Pacquiao, who despite a knockout win, is clearly past his prime.

Regardless, despite not working with Pacquiao anymore, Roach revealed he spoke to the former eight-division champion after his win over Matthysse and was impressed with his performance.

"I talked to Manny and I told him that he looked good. I think his opponent tried to pack it in early. He couldn't handle Manny's pressure. It was a good fight for him," Roach added. "We have had several conversations where we have talked about working together. The truth is I'm happy with the 16 years I was next to Manny. He is already 39 years old. He still has good speed and power. But father time does not forgive and we all get slow."

Meanwhile, Crawford is confident of unifying the 147-pound division like he did with the light welterweight division.

However, International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. has the same goal and exchanged words with "Bud" about who really runs the division as fans got even more excited.

A Crawford vs. Spence match-up is one of the most anticipated in boxing from a talent standpoint and one Mayweather himself notably stated could be the biggest fight in boxing after a while.