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In his amateur days, boxer Yuri Foreman would use superior stamina and cunning to stump his opponents.
Not much has changed since Foreman turned pro in 2002. He still uses guile and excellent fitness to win decisions.
But on June 5 when Foreman, an aspiring rabbi, faces Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium for Foreman's WBA junior middleweight title, Foreman may abandon his safety-first style in favor of a more aggressive attack.
"Yuri can get you out of there, so don't sleep on him," said Foreman's trainer, Joe Grier, at a media training day at Gleason's on Tuesday. "This kid has the leverage, he has the speed and he's accurate enough to hurt you."
Grier wasn't predicting a knockout. Foreman (28-0), from Brooklyn, has just eight knockouts and none since 2006 and has been dubbed "Yuri Boreman" by his critics. But Grier did admit that Foreman, 29, is "taking more chances" as he has fought better competition.
Foreman nearly knocked out Daniel Santos in his last fight, winning a decision and the WBA title while scoring a pair of knockdowns.
Grier expects Cotto (34-2, 27 knockouts) to show little respect for Foreman's punching power and to start fast in the hopes of ending the fight early.
"And that's normally how these guys get themselves in trouble," Grier said. "They spend so much energy trying to take him out due to their lack of respect of him, until they end up getting caught in the University of Yuri Foreman," a reference to suggest that Foreman schools his opponents in the second half of fights.
The trainer admitted to having to suspend Foreman's training "three or four" times over the past seven weeks to protect Foreman from over-training and peaking too soon. Grier described this as a routine practice whenever Foreman prepares for a fight.
"My trainer is monitoring me," Foreman said on Tuesday. "He says, 'Today you rest.' Perhaps I'm a little (eager because) you know it's a big fight."
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