By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach already has a strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza that helps out with getting some of his higher profile fighters in shape for their big money bouts. However, Roach might want to seriously consider hiring a defensive coach to help him train his fighters the finer points in how to avoid getting their heads used as a parking lot for punches, because Roach is going through a really bad period right now with his top fighters.
Look at what’s been happening with Roach’s fighters late:
* Manny Pacquiao gets spanked by Juan Manuel Marquez but wins on a very, very, very questionable decision. Pacquiao is hit all night long by right hand, left hooks, you name it. There’s just no defensive skills shown by Pacquiao in that fight.
* Amir Khan, one of Roach’s big money gold mine fighters, is whipped by Lamont Peterson and badly exposed as having no defensive skills or any ability to fight on the inside whatsoever. The only thing Khan can do well defensively to defend himself is run, shove and pull down on Peterson’s head all night long. Where are the defensive skills?
* Jorge Linares is taken out twice in back to back fights by Antonio DeMarco and Sergio Thompson, two good but very beatable fighter. Linares shows no ability to block punches and gets beaten up. Earlier today, Linare’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya says that it’s time that Linares learn some defense and get a trainer that can teach him to defend himself.
Since Roach is good at teaching offensive skills and is also good at strategy, he’s still a valuable trainer IF he can add a secondary coach whose main focus is defense. It can’t be just any schmuck pulled off the street that Roach hires to fill the job. He needs a top ex-fighter or a top trainer to come into his Wildcard gym and be his right hand man, someone that can maybe even take over when he decides to call it a day sometime in the future. Maybe hire back Michael Moorer and let him run the gym with an iron fist. They need a tough guy to teach defense and can’t be any of the hand holding that some of the more pampered fighters might be looking for.
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