Roach getting under Cotto's skin

Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach seems to be winning the psychological war against Miguel Cotto. Roach, who is not only known for his great coaching and training techniques, is also a mastermind when it comes to playing mind games against his fighter's opponents.

Cotto, who recently again responded to Roach's comments that Pacquiao will knock him out in the first round, and went as far as claiming to bet money on it.

"I have never seen a fighter win with the talking of his trainer. So I want to tell Freddie Roach, Miguel Cotto and his team do not care. The important thing here is that I'm not going to see the face of Freddie Roach in the ring. I will be in there with Manny Pacquiao. He (Roach) can say anything, try anything, to draw attention and try to be the hero of this whole promotion. But on November 14 we will see who talks in the end, the ones who did all the talking or the ones who stayed silent." Cotto told Puerto Rico's El Nuevo Dia.

Not too long ago, Roach also made a point to call Cotto out on his dirty tactics when he told the Philippine Inquirer,

"Cotto tends to get dirty when the going gets tough in most of his fights and I don't want that to happen," Roach told the publication. "I will make sure the referee will be very strict about it. Cotto stops his opponents' momentum with that kind of blow. In that [Zab] Judah fight he had five low blows."

Cotto responded to it with a similar annoyed tone and said,

"Freddie Roach has to understand that he is just Manny Pacquiao's trainer. He can train him as best he can, but nothing will change the outcome of the fight. On November 14, Miguel Cotto will do his work as usual and come prepared for Manny Pacquiao," and further added,
"Freddie Roach should learn to take his rightful role where he belongs, which is coaching....no matter the comments or what he tries to do, we'll keep working and doing our usual style of fighting," in another interview he did with the Puerto Rican website El Nuevo Dia.

You got to apreciate the gamesmanship of one of the greatest trainers to have ever lived. Truly, he is getting under Cotto's skin. Historically, Roach has done the same thing against Pacquiao's previous opponents notably, Oscar Dela Hoya, whom he pulled out a defective toy gun on, in a press conference for the Dream Match last year and said, "Oscar I have this toy gun but I can't pull the trigger, it must be yours," alluding to how Dela Hoya is washed-up and can't perform at the highest level of the sport anymore. Against Erik Morales, Roach got too deep under the Mexican legend's skin and had some heated verbal exchanges with him.

Against a Freddie Roach trained fighter, you can not only be physically prepared to change your style up because he will study every single weakness you have, you also have to be mentally be prepared to endure the subtle mental time bombs he places in your head and not be affected by it. Because as much as Cotto denies being affected by anything Roach said, his very words indicate that the bombs are ticking. And what would detonate it? Pacquiao's explosive fists. Roach places the doubts, Pacquiao brings them to reality in the ring. And before Cotto's body even recognizes it, his fragile mental state will be ready to quit- just as he did against Margarito. BOOM!

Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m10d24-Roach-getting-under-Cottos-skin