WITH ALL DUE RESPECT...Is Freddie Roach Slipping?

[The Big Dunn]

when I say sharp I meant physically.

to be honest I am just not sure about his fight day tactics anymore. He had poor plans with Linares and Pacquiao and was seemingly general in his instructions to Khan short of the going down the middle.

On Nov 3rd many people believed Freddie trained 2 viable opponents for floyd. Dec 11th, 5 weeks later, niether guy would even be a 4-1 underdog.

Freddie may have cost khan and manny collectively about $50 mil.

[Main Source]

Freddie Roach has appraised himself too high with all his loud mouth talking lately IMO. He is a good trainer but at this point he can't give his fighters any advice in the ring when the fight is ongoing. Everything has to be done when in camp and I think it has become more evident this time around as his fighters can't really adapt to the given situations when in a fight or change their game plan when things are going wrong.

On the other hand, Manny has been with him for years and knows the routine. The situation is different for Khan and e.g. Linares. It's the same with Floyd. He doesn't really need Roger at this stage.

[whoelibits]

With all due respect from me too, but as much as I think Khan made mistakes in the ring, it seemed obvious to me that Khan utterly dominated the fight when he took the centre of the ring. The times when he was stepping (and sometimes running!) back - a natural instinct when a man needs a breather, I know - were when Peterson revelled, scoring the rounds by chasing him down and eventually getting Khan on the ropes and landing shots. When Khan stood his ground he looked a class above.

Maybe I'm being simplistic but I think Khan should have been told to stand his ground more in the centre of the ring, and to work Peterson from there.

The cornerwork seemed virtually non-existent.

[Left2theliver]

I am seriously worried about the guy. When I watched the Khan fight it looked like his Parkinson's was really taking effect, i mean the guy's obviously showed the symptoms for a long times now, but he just looked to be trembling more than usual. It's sad man.

[cupocity303]

From the outside looking in, he doesn't seem much better to me than Ricky Hatton's original trainer. Put a body suit on him and he's no different, just letting his fighters unload on him and having his assistant whip them up into tip-top condition.

Maybe he does give them good strategic advice before fights when no cameras are looking, about what they should do against their opponents, whom he studies. I don't know.

[gperez]

Hmmm... heck what about Peterson?

I believe that seriously, one can easily overlook the work that Lamont did... first off in round One he knew he could not outbox nor outpunch Khan... Amir had a game plan... Lamont just pressed on and imposed his will, making it a phuysical fight... he was the tougher dude.

In my opinion this has little to do with Freddie Roach... 99.9% of the work is done before the fight... Khan was trained and in shape... Lamont just brought it to him in a way in which it could have gone either way, and after outboxing him for a great deal and having a takedown he just did not push as hard as Lamont... who just FOUGHT more.

You can coach a fighter... but words won't make him fight more... that's mainly a somewhat romantic and cinematic notion.

[studentofthegam]

Ive come to realize that most trainers arent prepared for adversity. Maybe its because they dont wont to discuss the thought of a gameplan not working during their camps. Ive seen it with Nacho, Richardson and Roach. None of them have a plan B ever. Its quite strange to me being that they are the biggest names out there.

[gperez]

You know, in boxing there's no Plan B.
A fighter has to go in SURE of himself for the win... they go in winners in their mind... when things start going downhill, other aspects of the fighter come in.

Sure a trainer can spot the holes, the opportunities... find something... but the sweet science is rather obvious when that is happening... 90% of the time a trainer just notices what has to be done... it's THE FIGHTER who has to dig deep and find a way when a gameplan is not happening and you're getting whooped and tired as hell.

That's an aspect of the fighter... they have to fight for it... let's take for instance, The Berto/Ortiz fight... Berto was dominating, Ortiz knew his chance was to score the big shot... he took the chances, rolled the dice and got down and dirty... yes, the trainers might point the way... but in boxing THE ACTUAL competition is between two guys in the ring... its up to them at that point.

I do agree with the spreading himself thin asessment though (regarding FR) I think it's a very worthy observation.

[studentofthegam]

You know, in boxing there's no Plan B.
A fighter has to go in SURE of himself for the win... they go in winners in their mind... when things start going downhill, other aspects of the fighter come in.

Sure a trainer can spot the holes, the opportunities... find something... but the sweet science is rather obvious when that is happening... 90% of the time a trainer just notices what has to be done... it's THE FIGHTER who has to dig deep and find a way when a gameplan is not happening and you're getting whooped and tired as hell.

That's an aspect of the fighter... they have to fight for it... let's take for instance, The Berto/Ortiz fight... Berto was dominating, Ortiz knew his chance was to score the big shot... he took the chances, rolled the dice and got down and dirty... yes, the trainers might point the way... but in boxing THE ACTUAL competition is between two guys in the ring... its up to them at that point.

I do agree with the spreading himself thin asessment though (regarding FR) I think it's a very worthy observation.

Mayweather and BHop always have plan B. Peterson even had a plan B. I think lack of adaptability does have to do with the trainer.

[kiaba360]

Roach, just like Emmanuel Steward, have become sort of complacent with their top fighters. Roach's top pupils have very similar strategies. Steward's top pupils fight a lot alike too. This can also be due to the fact that, their fighters have similar strengths. Pac and Khan use speed to dominate their opposition, just as the Klitschkos and Andy Lee are able to use their jab as a tool and a weapon. Maybe the Parkinson's is starting to affect Roach's in-ring instructions, or maybe we've been overrating Roach and giving him too much credit for the fights that Pac and Khan SHOULD be winning anyway. Are Pac and Khan that ****** that they need Roach to tell them every little adjustment that they need to make?