It is difficult to imagine a nicer, more laidback person than Freddie Roach, but if there is one person that gets the hall of fame trainer worked up, he will be in the opposite corner on May 2 in Las Vegas. Roach has been the subject of a non-stop attack from Floyd Mayweather Sr and with the spotlight likely to increase on the trainer in the run up to Ricky Hatton’s bout with Manny Pacquiao, he is unlikely to ease off.
?They?ve got Roach in the Hall of Fame. He should be in the Hall of Shame,? Mayweather, who trains Hatton, said at a press event in Los Angeles on Monday night. ?Let?s tell the truth like it is, you see Freddie Roach training and you see me training, it?s night and day. Don?t even compare. Don?t even come close. Freddie Roach is a joke. And that?s why I say his name is ?Freddie the Joke Coach Roach,? as far as I?m concerned.?
The Mayweather family obviously get upset by Roach, possibly for the acclaim he receives. As well as being voted into the Boxing Hall of Fame, Roach, who also trains Amir Khan, was recently named 2008 Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America for an unprecedented third time. Prior to Floyd Mayweather Jr’s win over Oscar De La Hoya, Roger Mayweather – Floyd Sr’s brother and Floyd Jr’s trainer – launched an almost embarrassing verbal assault on Roach, who was training De La Hoya for the bout, claiming he cold easily beat up Roach, who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease.
?Floyd can read some good poems that?s all he?s good at that I know of,” Roach said. “What has Floyd Senior achieved? His son?s a natural-born fighter. His brother, Roger, trained him anyway. Floyd never trained his son for a world title fight. “He tells me he?s the greatest but what has he done? He trained Oscar De La Hoya after Oscar has already won four world titles. Floyd is a legend in his own mind.?
