Freddie Roach admits that, as he watched Manny Pacquiao stop Lucas Matthysse this past July in Malaysia in Round 7, it was a rather bittersweet experience. He once had the best seat in the house for Pacquiao's fights, but then he was watching it like the rest of us: on TV.

"It was a little different. I mean, it was the same Manny that I trained for a long time and I was glad that he fought a good fight and put everything together and everything we ever worked on, he did in that fight. It was a good night for him," said Roach, who was absent from Pacquiao's corner that night.

A glorious run that began in 2001 had seemingly come to an end as it looked as though the Pacman would go into the final chapters of his career without his longtime trainer. Roach, while not devastated, was more disappointed by the turn of events and had turned the page.

After all, this is boxing; there aren't many happy endings in this business. There's a reason why they tell you to never fall in love with your fighters. Besides, Roach would readily admit that Pacquiao had made him millions and turned him into an iconic figure. Also, he never got stiffed for his money.

Yet Pacquiao still took a good amount of criticism for never personally reaching out to Roach over the summer to deliver the news.

"After not being in the corner and watching him on TV, I thought, 'That's it, it's over.' We had a great 15-year run and [I] couldn't be mad at him or anything like that. Because for 15 years we did great together, and everyone still puts me and Manny Pacquiao together, no matter what he does or what I do," Roach said.

Angelo Dundee didn't finish up with Sugar Ray Leonard, nor did Emanuel Steward with Thomas Hearns. However, they are forever linked in history. Roach has always been cognizant of the important role Pacquiao played in his career as a trainer.

He would accept this rather unfortunate ending to their longtime union with grace.

But as the formal announcement was made that the most visible senator from the Philippines would face Adrien Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs) on Jan. 19, word was that Pacquiao was interested in hooking back up with Roach at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles. When Pacquiao went to L.A. in mid-November for the news conference, a meeting was scheduled with Roach.

"By far, from the day I met him, I said, 'This guy's special,' and I told everyone and nobody believed me." Freddie Roach

"I was hopeful going into it. I remember driving to the hotel where I was going to meet him at, and it was cool. I was wondering, 'Is there where I officially get fired or get rehired?'" said Roach, who recalls that the meeting was cordial but also short and to the point.

After Pacquiao quickly apologized for the way things were handled leading up to the Matthysse fight, he and Roach quickly hammered out a financial deal for the Broner fight this weekend. And just like that, one of the most effective duos in boxing history was rekindled.

"It's nice," was Pacquiao's way of putting it when asked about returning to his familiar haunts in Hollywood to work once again with Roach. While many others on New Year's Eve were taking the day off, Pacquiao had no such luxury as he had a fight in a few weeks to prepare for. Though he said he missed Roach during their separation, Pacquiao pointed out it wasn't the first time he had prepped for a fight without him.

Back in April 2007, as Pacquiao faced Jorge Solis, that training camp was under the direction of Justin Fortune, who took over for Roach as he was training Oscar De La Hoya in Puerto Rico for his bout against Floyd Mayweather.

Although Pacquiao insisted that his longtime assistant and confidant, Buboy Fernandez, be given more of a role in preparations for the Broner fight, on this particular afternoon it was Roach who donned the body armor and mitts to go 12 fast-paced, frenetic rounds on the pads with the future Hall of Famer.