By Edward Chaykovsky
Freddie Roach, trainer of WBC middleweight world champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs), says Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) is nothing more than a pretty boy who will get outclassed come November 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, when the two fighters collide on HBO Pay-Per-View.
Canelo is confident that his youth, size and strength will overpower the four division world champion.
Roach is not impressed by Canelo's training tactics and says the hooks that Cotto will shoot to the younger man's body will eliminate his legs.
“We’ve had four sparring partners against Miguel each day. That’s for breaking the fighter down and hitting the body. We take their legs away from them. I feel that our opponent does a lot on his own. He’s not that disciplined. He’s a young guy. He’s the playboy. He’s a good looking guy. He gets all the girls like Oscar De La Hoya, but the thing is, those girls are not going to help him in this fight," Roach said.
Roach points to Canelo's inexperience, where his career stands and his recent opposition as further disadvantages in the contest.
The two fighters will collide at a catch-weight of 155-pounds, where Roach believes his man will hold the advantage. Canelo's last three fights took place at 155. Cotto fights at middleweight, but weighs in significantly less for his fights.
“I have the better fighter. We’ve fought better opposition. We’ve been in there with better fighters. We’ve learned after the process of going through this and he’s still at the beginning of the learning stage. Who knows how far he’ll go? Miguel’s gone a long, long way. We’ve proven ourselves and we’ll prove ourselves again on Nov. 21. I promise," Roach said.
