By Michael Marley
Naazim Richardson admires the special chemistry between Manny Pacquiao, prizefighter, and trainer Freddie Roach the way Picasso may have looked favorably on a Monet.
Put it this way, Richardson knows a Rembrandt from a counterfeit.
With his discerning boxing eye, the Philadelphian who is best known as the head trainer for legends Bernard Hopkins and Sugar Shane Mosley sees a boxing bond which has produced spectacular results in the ring and huge economic returns also.
But Richardson's not in the commercial side of the sport-business, so he focuses on the roots and the advancement of both Roach and Pacman.
You don't have to tell Richardson that Roach's tutelage came from Hall Of Fame trainer Eddie Futch because "The Naaz" is a bonafide student of the fight game.
"Eddie Futch, man, Eddie Futch is one of the iconic statesmen of the game, so that gave Freddie a good base. Eddie trained Freddie when Freddie was a boxer."
But it's the synchronicity of Coach Roach and Pacquiao that Richardson zeroes in on.
"I must admit that, right now, Freddie and Pacquiao are THE powerhouses in this sport. Freddie is just brilliant in how he handles Manny and Manny is just brilliant in how he follows what Freddie shows him," Richardson said Wednesday at a midtown Manhattan press conference to hype the Dec. 18 BHop-Jean Pascal light heavyweight title bout in Quebec City (Showtime).
"I must say that Pacquiao is an extraordinary talent as well."
You might think Richardson is buttering up Team Pacquiao in hopes of landing a Pacman bout for his man Mosley in case the Mayweather-Pacquiao blockbuster gets derailed once more but this reform school graduate from Philly's meanest streets isn't cut like that.
I asked Richardson if he's ever bothered by the fact that Roach seems to win every best trainer award on the planet, year in and year out. Richardson seemed to be a strong candidate for such honorifics on Jan. 24, 2009, hen he did double duty in Los Angeles, blowing the whistle on the illegal handwrap inserts of Antonio Margarito and then "jockeying" Mosley to a rout over the Mexican fighter.
(It's often forgotten that the trainer blew the whistle on loaded handwraps of Felix "Tito" Trinidad before the Puerto Rican superstar fought Hopkins in 2001.)
"I used to be bothered by those things," Richardson said, "when my mother was still alive. I only wanted honors like that to show her. Other than that, I don't care about that stuff."
Richardson, not one of the "knockers" prevalent in boxing, sprinkles compliments out to many contemporaries for their acumen and ability.
I asked the thoughtful man to name some top trainers extant and he rattled off the names of Emanuel Steward, Ronnie Shields, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and added, "I don't want to leave anyone out."
Richardson paused briefly and then added more names.
"Also Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Roger Mayweather, I mention them especially."
Richardson said criticizing other trainers is a pointless pursuit.
"There are many good trainers. I feel that you don't respect other trainers, then you don't respect boxing. So I am not going to do that. We're all under the same umbrella."
As far as up and coming trainers, he gave special mention to two Philadelphians, a man named Hemsa Muhammad and a woman named Sheron Bakar. (I may have butchered the spellings of those names and, if so, my apology.)
Looking back at the fateful night and fight in which Mosley dominated Margarito, Richardson can see some humor.
"I thought I blew it," Richardson said. "I thought that maybe they would take Margarito off to jail and then Shane wouldn't have had that chance to shine."
As for Mosley-Pacman, Richardson puts on his fan hat.
"I was in disciplinary school with Matthew Saad Muhammad. I went to see Bennie Briscoe and those guys fight. I saw Marvin Hagler fighting in Philly. So I was fan before I got otherwise involved in the sport.
"Shane against Pacquiao, now that's a fight I'd like to see as a fan of boxing."
Michael Marley is the national boxing examiner for examiner.com. To read more stories by Michael Marley, Click Here .
