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From seconds out
By Ben Cohen: Most people in the boxing world are writing off Peter Manfredo’s chances against Super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe. A reality game show loser, and sparring partner to the stars, it does not look like Manfredo has much to offer, at least on paper.
But there might be a little more to this fight than meets the eye, says trainer Freddy Roach, the man responsible for training Manfredo in his past few fights.
Although Roach will not be going to the fight (Manfredo is now trained by Sugar Ray Leonard), ‘The Contender’ runner up has improved immeasurably under Roach, and owes him a great debt for his enhanced game.
“Peter is becoming a better fighter all the time,” said Roach to SecondsOut days before he left to train Oscar De La Hoya in Puerto Rico. “He’s shown in his last two fights. Calzaghe better be ready.”
Calzaghe, unbeaten in 42 fights, is regarded as the best 168lber out there, but the champion hasn’t looked invincible in his recent outings.
“Calzaghe has never fought against a top American until Lacy”, said Roach “and he looked great in that fight, but in the next fight against Bika, he looked ordinary”
Having known about the fight months in advance, Manfredo has been working diligently on a strategy for the fight, and will be 100% prepared for the biggest fight of his life.
“Peter is going to come in great shape, and we’ve worked on a strategy these past few weeks. I mean, he’s not going all the way over to Wales just to be an opponent that’s for sure,” said Roach confidently.
As far as the charges that Manfredo is a sub par opponent, Roach pays the griping from the press little attention.
“Is Bika a good fighter? Had Bika fought anyone?” he asked rhetorically.
“Bika came in here to my gym and Peter boxed the **** out of him, and Calzaghe struggled with him.”
And to be fair, Roach has a good point. Manfredo has lost professionally three times, two of those times to Sergio Mora, the winner of ‘The Contender’, and once to Alfonso Gomez. The losses to Mora were both controversial, and Manfredo corrected his loss to Gomez by handily out pointing him in their rematch. Manfredo moved up from the middleweight limit to the super middleweight limit after the fights to Mora, and has looked fantastic in his fights against Scott Pemberton and Joey Spina. Admittedly, Pemberton was past his best, and Spina was not exactly world class, but Manfredo exceeded all expectations and knocked both men out in stunning fashion.
Fighting someone of Calzaghe’s stature is of course a totally different task altogether, but one that Roach feels his student is capable of doing well.
“Calzaghe had better be at his best,” warned Roach again, “because Peter is going to be at his best. He’s coming to win.”
By Ben Cohen: Most people in the boxing world are writing off Peter Manfredo’s chances against Super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe. A reality game show loser, and sparring partner to the stars, it does not look like Manfredo has much to offer, at least on paper.
But there might be a little more to this fight than meets the eye, says trainer Freddy Roach, the man responsible for training Manfredo in his past few fights.
Although Roach will not be going to the fight (Manfredo is now trained by Sugar Ray Leonard), ‘The Contender’ runner up has improved immeasurably under Roach, and owes him a great debt for his enhanced game.
“Peter is becoming a better fighter all the time,” said Roach to SecondsOut days before he left to train Oscar De La Hoya in Puerto Rico. “He’s shown in his last two fights. Calzaghe better be ready.”
Calzaghe, unbeaten in 42 fights, is regarded as the best 168lber out there, but the champion hasn’t looked invincible in his recent outings.
“Calzaghe has never fought against a top American until Lacy”, said Roach “and he looked great in that fight, but in the next fight against Bika, he looked ordinary”
Having known about the fight months in advance, Manfredo has been working diligently on a strategy for the fight, and will be 100% prepared for the biggest fight of his life.
“Peter is going to come in great shape, and we’ve worked on a strategy these past few weeks. I mean, he’s not going all the way over to Wales just to be an opponent that’s for sure,” said Roach confidently.
As far as the charges that Manfredo is a sub par opponent, Roach pays the griping from the press little attention.
“Is Bika a good fighter? Had Bika fought anyone?” he asked rhetorically.
“Bika came in here to my gym and Peter boxed the **** out of him, and Calzaghe struggled with him.”
And to be fair, Roach has a good point. Manfredo has lost professionally three times, two of those times to Sergio Mora, the winner of ‘The Contender’, and once to Alfonso Gomez. The losses to Mora were both controversial, and Manfredo corrected his loss to Gomez by handily out pointing him in their rematch. Manfredo moved up from the middleweight limit to the super middleweight limit after the fights to Mora, and has looked fantastic in his fights against Scott Pemberton and Joey Spina. Admittedly, Pemberton was past his best, and Spina was not exactly world class, but Manfredo exceeded all expectations and knocked both men out in stunning fashion.
Fighting someone of Calzaghe’s stature is of course a totally different task altogether, but one that Roach feels his student is capable of doing well.
“Calzaghe had better be at his best,” warned Roach again, “because Peter is going to be at his best. He’s coming to win.”
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