Johnny Nelson on the verbal battle between Floyd Mayweather and Freddie Roach and what it means...
Mayweather and Roach sideshow should not be dismissed
I am suprised to see Freddie Roach getting caught up in a slanging match with Floyd Mayweather Snr.
You expect Mayweather to be the bragadocious one and he has lived up to that from the moment this fight was announced, but to be honest, I never pay any attention to it.
Yes it is entertaining - at first - but I have a theory that says the loudest man in the room is the weakest man in the room. Well, that was Floyd. Freddie was the one standing their smiling, refusing to play the game. He is not an idiot.
People might well think that its the fighters that settle a fight in the ring, but what goes on outside also has a major part to play. Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao might be all sweetness and light together, but their trainers are not only providing us with a talking point, they are entering a battle of wills.
There is so little to choose between two top, top fighters, that maybe they have realised that the only way to rattle either one is get his right-hand man off his game.
It is bringing the fighter out in both of them. How many times did we see Muhammad Ali win a fight before he even climbed in the ring? George Foreman had all the attributes to destroy Ali in Zaire; he was younger, fresher, stronger. But Ali got to him to the point where all he wanted to do was knock him out - and we all know what that led to.
Rattled
Mayweather is trying to get to Roach, by any means necessary and what we are seeing from Roach is the fighter's response. Normally he would keep quiet and laugh it off, but he's not. Is he rattled? I don't think Freddie really gets rattled as such, but isn't like him to bite back, I've got to say.
But the other way of looking at it is Mayweather knows he is facing a massive challenge. He cannot ignore what Roach has achieved down the years with a variation of fighters, and the respect he has in the sport. He is a boxing man and a man boxing people like.
And of the two, I know who I would rather have in my corner. If Floyd Mayweather was that good, or even half as good as he says, he would have a long list of fighters he has produced, or at least trained, who have gone on to greatness. There would be more than Floyd Mayweather Jnr, his son.
But my biggest concern when it comes to Mayweather is the trust factor. You talk to any fighter and the most important relationship he will have is the one with the man in his corner.
When I was fighting, Brendan Ingle used to tell me things I didn't quite agree with, or like, and the only thing that got me through was that complete and utter faith in him.
A boxer needs to believe in his trainer. He needs to be willing to jump off a cliff if his trainer thinks that is what's best. I am not sure Ricky will have that with Mayweather. Yes, he had it back in the day with Billy Graham and all good things do come to an end, but there is no way he can have that already with Floyd.
Business
For a start, how can you really, really trust a man that was willing to work the corner against his own son? His own flesh and blood. I know I couldn't. And the flipside of that is, even if Mayweather does stick with his son if he returns, there is every chance that he could be in the opposite corner the next time Ricky fights.
It has to be a purely business relationship and we have seen some improvements already, but the trainer-fighter relationship has to be deep down and personal. Ricky needs to believe 100 per cent in his man. I hope I am wrong, but I can't quite see that here.
Roach and Pacquiao on the other hand, are dead close. Even adding Michael Moorer to the camp won't change that either. I do think Michael has a long way to go before establishing himself as a trainer, but his addition could be beneficial. It certainly won't dilute the relationship between Pacquiao and Roach either and if anything it gives them another set of eyes.
And it reinforces my view that Roach is the best trainer out there, at least in this fight. It shows that he is never afraid to second-guess himself, to make sure he is doing the right thing and make sure he understands everything. Having Moorer there to give him a second opinion will only make him a better trainer.
Floyd Mayweather will need to live up to his own hype if Ricky is going to pull this one off...
What do you make of either trainer? Is Roach the best in the world, or do Mayweather's actions speak as loud as his words? Let us know your thoughts below...
