Please discuss. This is a topic I've become more and more interested in lately, as I've realized a lot of trainers in the sport make for such great interviews. Which ones are the best of the best and why? What defines greatness in a trainer?
Vision. There are not too many trainers who can see a fight or fighter and understand exactly whats going on. The ability to see a fight and pick out the mistakes a fighter is making, and the strategy needed to offset it. Also a good understanding of their fighters limitations and how to keep them out of harms way. I cant go back to the early days of boxing but some of the guys that I believe are really good: This is my top five in order and I believe they are way above the rest on the second list. Eddie Futch Emanuel Steward Tommy Brooks Freddie Roach Angelo Dundee Teddy Atlas Curtis Cokes Buddy McGirt George Benton Archie Moore Richie Giachetti Floyd Mayweather Sr Roger Mayweather Jesse Reid Joe Gooson Eddie Mustafa Muhammad Roger Bloodworth Nazim Richardson Ronnie Shields Thell Torrance Miguel Diaz
lefthook31, i am waiting for rocky kockridge vs harold knight at moment , lockridge's life is in the toilet but is knight a trainer these days
Jack Blackburn Freddie Brown Charlie Goldman George Gainford Angelo Dundee Eddie Futch Ray Arcel Freddie Roach Manny Stewart Cus D Amato Buddy McGirt
Sorry I dont claim to be an expert on trainers, just went off the top of my head and Im sure I forgot a few, Cus D Amato should be in my top list. Cant believe I forgot him. Not sure about lockridge as a trainer, hes been a crack addict for most of his late life. Bodhi who on the world class level is not active in the US?
Well, Wegener, Sdunek and Timm all trained or made around 10 fighters to beltholder/champs. I think that qualifies them for your second list.
Adrian Davis made two or three world champions and I think he is probably the worst trainer in boxing today. :good Sdunek I can never understand what hes saying in the corner..
Well, probably because you aren´t speaking German Sdunek has heart problems these days and abondoned all fighters but Vitali Klitschko.
Right! I dont speak German. One thing about Sdunek is none of his fighters ever had much of an inside game.
Well, Sdunek and Wegener learned their boxing in the GDR and the Sowjetunion. Quite a bit different to what was going on in the US. They adepted it a bit when they went into the progame but that´s what they still are. Old school sowjet amateur trainers.
Let's be clear straight away : a trainer is only as good as his fighters. And the large part of success comes from within the fighter, his own drive and discipline. A great trainer is one who can take a kid from scratch and bring out the best of him. I'm not as impressed by some of the big name trainers as some are, especially when they seem to only work with already established fighters. Bringing a kid up from nothing is more impressive. There are some great trainers who just dont want to be jet-setting around with several world champions all the time, or attaching themselves to known talent, they just stick with the local gym and their own local lives at take whatever fighters' fate throws at them.