Roach Says Cotto is Practically Training Himself

Published on November 6, 2009 by Ariel Avenasa in Boxing

As if on cue, just when world pound-for-pound boxer Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao appears to have tapered down on the physical aspect of his preparation for the upcoming November 14 mega-event of the year, coach Freddie Roach escalates his mental gambit against Puerto Rican bomber Miguel Cotto and his trainer Joe Santiago.

In an obvious attempt to once again rile up Cotto’s relatively inexperienced trainer Joe Santiago, Roach shares in an article by Fanhouse.com that Cotto has become slower, gets hit so much more, and sucks on defense ever since his loss to Antonio Margarito last year because he has been practically training
himself.

A former boxer himself who trained under the legendary Eddie Futch, the 49-year old Roach says that a fighter always needs someone to correct him otherwise you will end up with fundamental mistakes because no one is there to point out your flaws. He believes that this is basically what is happening with Team Cotto where Miguel is the boss and pretty much calls the shots rather than his trainer who is handling only his second fight as head trainer after being promoted from his previous post as team nutritionist.

Roach further belittles the mitts sessions and sparring partners that Team Cotto has been utilizing in training, saying “it’s like [friggin] slow motion”. He says that it is difficult to judge the Pacman’s speed but when Pacquiao gets in front of Cotto he will feel like his sparring partners were like slow motion in comparison to the Filipino whirling dervish.

Reacting to a report that Joe Santiago wants him to bet his Trainer of the Year trophy if Pacquiao loses to Cotto on November 14th, Roach says, “the only reason he wants that trophy is because he’s never fought before, so he’s never even had a trophy. I’ve got [friggin] thousands of trophies. He can have that trophy, for Christ sakes. It’s not going to make him a better trainer”.

In a related article, pressed to react to Freddie Roach’s statements about him and his trainer, Miguel Cotto said, “forget about Freddie Roach. He can teach what he believes he can teach to help Manny win this fight, but at the end of the road, it’s just Manny and Miguel Cotto. No matter what Freddie Roach says, I have a very strong mind, you know? I’m not going to fall for his game.”

Meanwhile, while all of this was happening Manny Pacquiao’s star continues to shine which is indicative of the newfound crossover appeal of the Filipino boxing phenomenon as he made a guest appearance at the popular Jimmy Kimmel Live late night talk show earlier this week and gracing this weekend’s cover of Time Magazine, the first boxer to be accorded such an honor after more than 20 years since Mike Tyson did it in 1988.

Source: http://sportales.com/boxing/roach-says-cotto-is-practically-training-himself/