By Jake Donovan
If there’s a major fight involving a boxer who has Freddie Roach in his corner, you can safely bet that at same point the Hall of Fame trainer will pick his charge to win by knockout.
Naturally, that is what he believes – and continues to insist – will take place this weekend when Miguel Cotto defends his World middleweight championship versus Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. The HBO Pay-Per-View headliner takes place this Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Canelo is a great fighter, but as long as Miguel sticks to the game plan, I see no problems whatsoever,” Roach told HBO’s Kieran Mulvaney when prompted to justify his bold prediction following Wednesday’s final pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas.
Cotto (40-4, 33KOs) hooked up with Roach in 2013, coming out hiatus after having suffered back-to-back losses to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout in 2012. The boxer and trainer are 3-0 since joining forces, including a historic middleweight championship winning effort over Sergio Martinez last June.
Prior to the fight, many thought Roach was crazy for not only guaranteeing Cotto would win but would do so by knocking out the defending – though aged – champion. The boxing superstar from Puerto Rico did just that, dropping Martinez three times in the opening round before forcing him to retire in his corner – and for good – prior to the start of round ten.
The win allowed Cotto to become the first-ever boxer from Puerto Rico to win championships in four weight classes, having also collected belts at super lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight. Even more impressive in his run is that he’s honored Roach’s pre-fight prediction of a knockout, also delivering such an ending in wins over Delvin Rodriguez (KO3 in Oct. ’13, their first fight together) and most recently Daniel Geale, stopping the former middleweight titlist in four rounds this past June.
Alvarez (45-1-1, 32KOs) is in the heart of his prime, the same which cannot be said of Cotto’s past three opponents. The fighting pride of Mexico has also shown a granite chin in the ring through 10 years and 47 fights in the pro ranks, as well as improved technique and an ability to close the show when he has his opponents in trouble.
Roach has taken all of this into consideration as he sticks to his guns.
“I watched a lot of tape on him and studied him quite a bit,” Roach confirmed. “We have a great game plan, we will break him down.
“I think all great fights end in knockout and Miguel will be the one to knock him out.”
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene,com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
