The sport of Boxing isn?t just about the fighters, the promoters or the money. What is sometimes overlooked by those watching closely are the trainers of the fighters. While I truly believe that as a veteran fighter you can only learn so much from a new trainer as you have already had a style instilled in you. I think that most veteran fighters look more for a different means of inspiration, a different view of motivation. Because in the heat of battle you are going to use your smarts and revert back to what you know, what makes you comfortable. With that we are going to take a look at the 5 trainers I believe are the best overall trainers in the sport of boxing today. And while some fans and writers alike might have them in a different order, I believe there is no denying that these 5 guys deserve to be recognized as the top guys in the sport.
Freddie Roach
A former fighter himself has had the chance to train numerous world champions and giant names in the sport. Roach is a good natured, calm trainer, who can rarely be seen in his gym or in the corner raising his voice or yelling at his fighters. Roach suffers from the same disease that the great Muhammad Ali suffers from, Parkinson?s disease. It is a terrible disease that can affect speech, movement and overall motor reflexes. Roach has gone on record as saying he doesn?t blame the sport for his health saying, ?I chose this sport, this sport didn?t choose me.? You don?t see that slowing him down as former World Champion and current fighter of Roach?s Oscar De La Hoya says, ?It is incredible, Freddie, a lot of the time we have to keep up with him.?
Along with De La Hoya, Roach also Trains current World Champions and Pound 4 Pound fighters Manny Pacquiao and Bernard Hopkins as well as the always entertaining James Toney. Roach has also trained the former ?Baddest Man on the Planet,? Mike Tyson. If you can teach and handle both Tyson and Toney, that says a lot. Roach has a unique style of training in which he seems to know exactly what it is his fighter needs to hear and work on to be motivated to get his job done in the ring. Roach is a master at coming up with game plans that work against almost any opponent and he has an almost father like demeanor, referring to his fighters as ?son? in the corner. Training current P4P fighters as well as some of the most gifted fighters of all time makes Freddie Roach the odds on best trainer in the game today.
Floyd Mayweather, SR.
Floyd, SR., is another guy that is as good a trainer as is out there. He is a former fighter and contender in the welterweight division. He is more of a defensive first or defensive minded trainer, believing that a great defense will beat a good offense everyday of the week. And so far, I couldn?t argue with him. He is the man that taught his son, the current best fighter in the world in almost everyone?s eyes what it mean?s to be an almost prefect fighter. With the perfect blend of Defense, Offense and Ring Generalship, ?Pretty Boy Floyd? is at a stage in his career where he hasn?t lost and has really never come close in 38 pro fights, and most don?t see him loosing anytime soon.
Mayweather is also the trainer of current WBC Light-Heavyweight Champion Chad Dawson and current junior lightweight contender Joan Guzman. It is hard to argue that with the fighter Mayweather, SR has made his son and the immediate improvements he has made in Dawson and Guzman that Mayweather, SR., does not rival Roach or any other trainer for the top spot in the sport of boxing. Mayweather is one of the smartest trainers you will ever have the chance to meet or watch in action. Don?t take my word for it; just watch a fight in which he works the corner. He can dictate a fight or call a fight or situations in the fight before they happen, truly a remarkable feat and almost Naustrodmas like. A pleasure to watch.
Emanuel Steward
Manny is a guy who has been around a long time. The ?Trainer of Champions,? Steward has trained such legends as Tommy Hearns and Oscar De La Hoya. His Current list of World Champions includes Undisputed Middleweight World Champion Jermain Taylor and the IBF Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko. Manny is like the other great trainers in that he is a master at strategy, taking the things his fighters are strong in and implying those into the game plan while taking the weaknesses they have and staying away from them. He is as smart as anyone in boxing and knows how to keep his fighters at the top by picking matchups that make it possible. Steward is also a master at technique, which is also very fun to watch as he works out in the ring with his fighters at the Kronk Gym. Steward?s inability to make Jermain Taylor a better fighter has me wondering where the problem lies, in Steward or Taylor, however.
James ?Buddy? McGirt
Buddy McGirt like most great trainers he was a fighter before he became a trainer. McGirt is famous for fighting guys such as Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor to name a few. McGirt was a slick boxer/puncher as a fighter. The beauty in McGirt as a trainer lies in the fact that he doesn?t allow his fighters to spar as often as other trainers and that genuinely has a father like care for his fighters in that he will not hesitate to stop a fight that he believes his fighter can?t win or is taking too much punishment in.
He is a great technician who can come up with a great game plan out of the gate. My only question with McGirt is that once his fighter is in the heat of the Battle McGirt seems to not have all the answers or adjustments to help his fighters out. McGirt is trainer of Former World Champion Lamon Brewster, Current WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Vernon Forrest as well as his son James McGirt, JR., just to name a few. The Boxing world and its fans came to really notice McGirt when he worked with the now retired Arturo Gatti.
It was almost a love affair the two had for each other, the sort of bond that is very rare in the boxing world. Watching McGirt hold Gatti?s head and kiss it when he decided Gatti had taken enough punishment from Current P4P Champion Floyd Mayweather, JR., was like that of a father holding his son in almost a baby like way to protect him from whatever it is that scared or hurt him. Truly magic to see. The up?s and down?s of McGirt?s fighters and the lack of being able to change a gamelan most of the time are what put McGirt number 4 on my list, not his lack of talent.
Dan Birmingham
It was hard for me to decide on whether or not to put Roger Mayweather here or to put Dan Birmingham. But since I sort of believe that it is not so much Roger that trains Floyd as it is Floyd that trains Floyd, I am going with Birmingham at number 5. Birmingham is the trainer of one of the best overall technical fighters of our time Winky Wright, as well as trainer of former Super Middleweight Champion, Jeff Lacy. That is what has Birmingham on my list. His love for Winky and the ability to take Wright to a level far beyond his dreams proves that Birmingham has what it takes to be one of the games best trainers. His suave and almost cocky training style works perfect when trying to get two of boxing?s best superstar fighters ready for war. Birmingham is not any higher than 5 for the simple reason that he does not have a large stable of fighters. If and when Wright retires if Birmingham can continue to train Lacy as well as train other big name fighters he may have a chance to move up in my book, until then 5 sounds about right for Dan.
Boxing trainers have recently been getting more notice, but hopefully I have opened your eyes if you have yet to look at the men behind the scenes. They definitely deserve the appreciation. Honorable Mentions: Roger Mayweather, Joe Goossen and John David Jackson
