His trigger finger has never been sharper or more accurate. That?s why I am choosing Boston homeboy Freddie Roach as Promoter of the Year for 2008.
Roach wasn?t shooting any blanks as his verbal ripostes continually got under the thin skin of Oscar De La Hoya.
I say Roach?s one-man effort outdid anything my runnerup, Top Rank, did over the course of an entire year. Don?t forget that the trainer/promoter worked his promotional magic in the midst of a horrendous worldwide credit crunch.
The biggest show of the year, money wise, and it took a humble but confident trainer to lead the promotional pack. I mean, really, can you recall a single memorable Pacman-De La Hoya quote that came out of the mouths of Richard Schaefer, Bob Arum or Oscar ?I?m in the best shape of my life? De La Hoya?
No way, Don Jose. This promotion?s forever remembered tag line is ?Oscar can?t pull the trigger anymore? and not only was it a provocative and catchy line, it turned out to be 100 percent accurate.
While many of us saw Oscar sliding as tapper Stevie Forbes left him black and blue, Roach saw more.
Roach saw a train wreck and then engineered the upset of the year on the year?s biggest stage.
Take a bow, Mr. Roach.
