There’s nothing like listening to a top-notch boxing trainer as he’s preparing his fighter for a big world title fight. Add to that the trainers were both formerly ranked pros who shared the ring with fighters the ilk of Sugar Ray Leonard and Hector Camacho, and it’s even more enlightening and entertaining.
Last week, during a conference call, Ricky Hatton’s trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, took questions from the boxing press. During the hour plus question and answer session, Mayweather Sr. did his best Muhammad Ali imitation as he spouted off rhymes deriding both Roach and Pacquiao. Roach, to his credit, did a pretty good Joe Frazier and kept his cool, and more or less laughed at and along with Mayweather, while getting in his own zingers here and there. The one thing that both trainers projected was how absolute they are in their belief that it will be their fighter who comes out on top on May 2nd.
While listening to Mayweather and Roach take questions from the writers, I had to remind myself that neither of them trained Sugar Ray Robinson. That honor and privilege went to George Gainford, who I’ll touch on briefly in a moment. The point here is, after listening to Roach and Mayweather discuss their fighters, you’d think that Manny Paquiao and Ricky Hatton were among the top five boxers and top five punchers in the history of their respective divisions. Then again, that’s part of the trainers? job and they were both selling the fight.
At one point Mayweather said that after first holding the pads for Hatton, he realized Ricky didn’t know anything, but added Hatton could beat Pacquiao even without him in his corner. He said together they’ve been working on Hatton becoming a more complete fighter and boxer. He added that Ricky has improved his defense and will surprise Pacquiao during the fight with his defense and head movement.
No doubt that sounds good, but most of the time when a fighter gets nailed pretty good in the heat of battle, more often than not they revert back to what they’re most comfortable doing. Which led me to asking Floyd Sr. “if he had any fear of Ricky reverting back to his former self once he gets nailed flush on the way in by one of Pacquiao’s Sunday left hands?” To that Mayweather said in so many words that even if Ricky reverted back to his brawling style, it wouldn’t matter because as far as he’s concerned, Hatton can beat Pacquiao via trading with him or by out-boxing him. Mayweather Sr. believes Hatton is naturally bigger and stronger on top of being a better boxer and puncher than Pacquiao. Of course if that is indeed true, Manny’s in trouble.
