Seems everything is a song and dance with Freddy Roach lately. Please don’t think I’m making any type of comment on his physical condition. Personality aside, I think Roach deserves supreme admiration for the way he’s handled his condition and I have no gripes whatsoever with that. His personality though, that could use a bit of tweaking before the next fight.
You see, when I say everything is a song and dance with Freddie as of late, I’m simply wanting to establish that he’s become a spinster more akin to the world of professional wrestling than to the sweet science. Everything is a mind game, everything is a strategy and everything is in the design. Of the current trainers, there is little doubt Freddie is among the top echelon, but unlike someone of the caliber of Emmanuel Steward, it’s been a while since Freddie has turned a losing boxer into a winning prospect.
If you don’t see what I’m getting at, please focus on Wladimir Klitschko and his run after he started with Steward. Simply put, Steward took a glass jaw liability and has built him back into a very formidable champion. Maybe not as invincible as we once thought, but apart from his brother… there’s no one who comes close to Wladimir. Steward is also now working with Miguel Cotto and I’m very interested in seeing what he can do with a boxer who has the skills but lacks the discipline and see if he can get him into a competitive setting once again. For his part, Freddie has been a big winner thanks to his work with Manny Pacquiao and now a bit with Amir Khan.
Unlike Pacquiao though, Khan can’t take a punch and now he’s going to face Carlos Maidana and his right hand. Simply put, Khan reminds me of Nazeem Hammed and like this boxer, I’m also urgently wishing to see him get knocked out. That detail aside, Freddie has trained quite a few other excellent fighters and he’s done great work with them… the thing is that lately his focus is not 100% on training and it’s straying more into the fight theatrics that might sell PPVs but don’t mean much to someone who’s into boxing. And quite honestly, it’s getting old quick.
The only exception to this is if Floyd finally decides to give Manny a fight and avoids getting thrown into jail. If that happens, then let the drama unfold because if I’ve learned ANYTHING from watching Floyd in a fight it’s that his prefight hype and the 24/7 series are the only thing worth watching. This time around it might be different and Manny may make him fight for once in his cherry picked career, but if not, then at least we have something to watch for 4 weeks.
Regardless though, I just simply hope Freddie takes some time for himself to meditate about his place in boxing and how his attitude is threatening to soil an otherwise admirable career. Otherwise, I think Hulk Hogan is looking for a new person in his corner and I’m sure they can come up with some storyline for him to be able to continue developing his newly acquired skills.
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