10 BEST TRAINERS IN BOXING TODAY
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 18 May 2016
The boxing world is at the threshold of an announcement that there will be at least one if not two mega fights before 2016 ends. The announcements are for Mayweather-Pacquiao II and Canelo-Golovkin. Well maybe not Canelo-Golovkin in 2016.
While we hope and pray negotiations go well for both fights, let?s turn our attention for a moment to rank the individuals who help the fighters give their best performances to fight fans and the public. They are rarely mentioned. These individuals are the Boxing trainers or Coaches.
What makes a boxing trainer worthy in many cases of 10% of a fighter?s purse as compensation? A good trainer advises his or her fighter on how to win fights. A good trainer knows his or her fighters limitations. A trainer will strive to maximize their fighter?s strong points and minimize their fighter?s weaknesses especially if the fighter has been successful fighting the way they have been in the past. A good trainer can train any style of fighter in the ring. A good trainer has a resume that includes at least two world champions. This list does not reflect the best trainers of all time. Some trainers on the list may go on to someday be the best trainer(s) of all time when their career(s) in boxing are over. So Promoters, Managers, Advisors, Investors, etc. pay attention to this list. You may want to link your promising prospect with any of the 10 fighters I will rank. For now, in this writer?s opinion, the 10 best trainers in boxing are:
1. Freddie Roach - The best trainer in boxing today. Roach a former fighter who was never champion has guided multiple fighters to world championships and has worked with many former champions. One can argue he has guided Manny Pacquiao to the number one spot on the ?Pound for Pound? list as best fighter in boxing. He has helped turned Pacquiao into a well deserved mainstream name. Whether a fighter is a heavyweight, lightweight, brawler, or boxer/puncher Roach can improve them and take them to the next level if they listen to his advice.
2. Abel Sanchez ? Sanchez ranks second on this list. He has guided 14 men to world championships! Those of us who are true boxing fans remember the Norris brothers. Terry and Orlin Norris. Both became world champions. Terry at junior middleweight and Orlin at Cruiserweight. I once recalled Sportscaster/former world champion Bobby Czyz call Terry a ?Supreme Talent?. That he was! A feared Jr. Middleweight who fought the best fighters willing to fight him. As a fight fan I always wanted to see a prime Norris vs. Trinidad or Norris vs. De La Hoya. Unfortunately, those fights never materialized. Had Norris won any of those fights, he would?ve been a superstar! Outside distractions and lawsuits were rumored to have contributed to his demise. Sanchez now trains Gennady Golovkin. Sanchez has polished his current diamond in the rough into a feared fighter and arguably the best middleweight in boxing today.
3. Joe Goossen - Goosen comes in at number three. Do any of you readers remember the Ruelas brothers, Raphael and Gabriel? Goosen took these guys from scratch and guided them to world championships. Very impressive for a guy who was not a fighter. Raphael became lightweight champion and Gabriel became featherweight champion. Goosen has also worked with former IBF middleweight King Michael Nunn. He helped Cuban defector Joel Casamayor transition from an Olympic champion to a professional world champion. Casamayor is arguably the most successful professional boxer to defect to date. He helped the late Diego Corrales win two titles after losing to Floyd Mayweather and a brief incarceration when he resumed his career. Remember Corrales getting off the canvas twice to knock out Jose Luis Castillo? Probably the best fight this writer has ever seen. Goosen is rumored to have a disdain for traveling to fighter camps. Aside from that, an excellent trainer.
4. John David Jackson - Is a former two division world champion. He once fought and lost to future hall of famer, Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins a well schooled technical fighter respected Jackson so much he later hired Jackson as a co-trainer for one fight (Antonio Tarver). Has worked with other former champions. Jackson?s first world champion was Nate Campbell. His second and currently world champion is the feared partly unified light heavyweight King Sergey Kovalev.
5. Teddy Atlas - Atlas was never a pro fighter, but he apprenticed as a trainer under Cus D'Amato, Mike Tyson?s original mentor and trainer. Under D?Amato?s guidance, Atlas trained an amateur Mike Tyson?s until their relationship went south. Atlas has worked with other world champions. Unlike Kevin Rooney (a good trainer), who replaced Atlas as Tyson?s trainer, Atlas knows more than just the ?peek a boo style? of fighting that made Tyson one dimensional, but still great when Tyson was focused. Atlas rebounded ?big time? when he guided Michael Moorer to the Heavyweight title. Atlas is a very knowledgeable trainer. Former world Champion Tim Bradley left a trainer he was with for years to go and work with Atlas. Atlas has matured over the years, which has made him an even better trainer. Fight fans can remember him screaming at Michael Moorer to motivate him against Holyfield for the Heavyweight title and how he talked to Heavyweight contender Michael Grant after a poor showing on an ESPN fight. Both instances were really embarrassing. Atlas is lot better these days when speaking to his fighters, which makes him an even better trainer!
6. Ronnie Shields - A former national amateur champion. Came close to winning a world title, but lost a disputed split decision to Jr welterweight WBC champion Hamada in Japan back in 1986. Has worked with great fighters like Pernell Whitaker, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield. He has guided the late Vernon Forrest, Erislandy Lara, and Jermall Charlo to world championships. He is a ?fighter?s trainer?. He not only understands the politics inside and outside the ring but has lived and experienced it.
7. James ?Buddy? McGirt, Sr. - This trainer should be the angriest man in boxing. He used to travel from Brentwood, New York to a gym in New Jersey every day. Most fighters in his era (affiliated with a prominent promoter or network) got a shot at a world title on average after about 20 fights. Buddy didn?t get a world title fight until his 41st fight! That fight was a rematch to guy called Frankie Warren who gave him his first loss. Buddy pulled the upset and won the rematch and his first world title. He would go on to win another world title in the welterweight division before retiring for good. He doesn?t appear to be angry. He is happy to impart his knowledge of boxing to up and coming boxers. Byron Mitchell was his first world champion. He has also trained world champions Joel Casamayor, Antonio Tarver, Arturo Gatti, and Paulie Malinaggi.
8. Ignacio Beristain - The man looks like a mad scientist who can?t fail! He has had a laundry list of world champions. There is no denying his qualifications. The most notable fact about his fighters is that they are all Mexican. I have never seen him train a foreign fighter, example African American. Maybe African Americans are not suited for his style of training and fighting. American trainers will work with foreign fighters and use translators in the beginning and in many cases throughout the association. Case in point McGirt-Casamayor, Roach-Chavez, Jr., Sanchez-Golovkin, Goosen (who speaks) Spanish trained Edison Miranda. Beristain would rank higher on this list if he were to train American or other foreign fighters.
9. Virgil Hunter ? Cracks this list at number nine. He has quietly guided Andre Ward to arguably the number 3 position Pound for Pound behind Mayweather and Pacquiao until Ward got side track with legal problems with his former Promoter. He guided Ward to championships and to win the super six 168lb tournament. He has also trained former World Champions Andre Berto and Amir Kahn. This man?s stock as a trainer is on the rise.
10. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad - This trainer not only can teach a young fighter the basics of boxing all the way to a championship, but has fought for fighter?s right by trying to unionize boxing. He guided Michael Bent to a world championship when he upset the late Tommy Morrison. He has worked with former world champions James Toney and Chad Dawson to name a few. He was also a world champion during an era of talented light heavyweights. Mustafa is a very knowledgeable trainer and good teacher.
These are the 10 best trainers in boxing. No disrespect to those left off the list.
Boxing Notes: Trainer Virgil Hunter recently found out he is the father of the beautiful R&B singer Keisha Cole. Congratulations to him and Cole on finding each other?.Hope we don?t have to wait 5 years before Canelo and Golovkin finally fight. There is talk of at least 2-3 tune up fights before they finally fight?. If Danny Garcia is looking for a fight, How about Tim Bradley?
Contact Writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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