It's not as simple as finding the right trainer. Look at the Judah fight for example. Sweet Pea literally told him exactly what he needed to do but he couldn't do it. I think trainers are overrated in the corner. The real work happens in the preparation for the fight. It doesn't matter what someone can see on the outside. What matters is what the fighter sees when he is in the ring. You are going to be hesistant to act if you don't see the openings or see the things that your trainer is telling you to do. That is why you have probably watched so many fights where you will listen to what the trainer is telling the guy and wonder why he won't just go out and do it. It is very different once you are in that ring. You are dealing with emotions and your body's chemical reactions to a very stressful situation. It is very hard to override yourself and do something that you don't see for yourself and something that you probably don't trust because it is not apparent to you. That is why I tend to not be hard on fighters, because I have been there and understand what it's like.
Assuming it's not just a lack of athleticism issue, I think you can overcome it. I think it starts in training. You have to be willing to get hit and get hurt. You have to be willing to try things even if you fear that it will result in you getting caught. If you don't do this in training, you definitely won't do this in the fight.
As was said, it can be a combination of things. Another point that hasn't been mentioned is the individual perception of judging your own hits VS the opponents. You can get tagged twice, and think "that was nothing, I feel fine", and then be content with a stiff jab or straight right that rocks the opponents' head back, and say "that must have hurt him." You can end up feeling you're doing enough to win, when in reality it seems as if you are losing the battle from the outside. Being befuddled is another. Treating it like a straight fight and not a competitively judged sport can also get in the way.
not too sure mate, being an Irishman I would hope so, Manny needs to do a lot of work with him to rectify it, but I do think it is something that can be changed, but only if the fighter himself acknowledges it and makes an effort, ala Kotelnik. it's a bit of an old cliche isnt it "he doesnt let his hands go enough".
The buzz I get back from Andy's camp, BB, is that he stubbornly refuses to adjust what he does 'n won't try to fight inside. He's got an eraser, but won't put the pedal to the metal.
See Julian Jackson vs. Cardamone. You simply do it, for many its like a mental barrier to overcome, for others its entirely dependent on physique.
It's something I laugh about in the gym with some of the old time trainers. There are guys in there who look phenomenal on the bags and pads, only to step in the ring, completely lose their nerve during sparring and absolutely dominate themselves mentally, so afraid of making a mistake or being hit that they tense up their shoulders, they lumber in their movements, every punch is thrown with KO written on it and suddenly they're out of energy thirty seconds in. There is a huge step from a guy hitting bags and pads to a guy sparring in the ring, then you add the intensity of a real fight, the fact that they usually have people in the audience rooting for them, it can really get ontop of them mentally and stop them from throwing - I believe this happens quite often in boxing also. As for the top layer of fighters, guys like Tua who always had the power and durability to make an impact but never the work rate? They get by (as Tua did early in his career) on being freakishly talented and able to make up for bad work ethic early, basically - then when they either fight someone above them (Lewis) or simply get old, that freakish talent no longer pulls them out of the fire every time they need it. But ultimately, lots of guys can't even spar without running out of energy because they have the wrong headspace for boxing. It's like Joe Calzaghe often said when he was demonised for dropping his hands and letting his opponents throw at him - he had to do it at times because it was the only thing that got him to relax in the ring, stop stiffening up the muscles and allow him to get into his rhythms, sometimes boxers never get into those rhythms which means they'll never be high volume punchers
its a mental thing, some lack confidence some lack the killer instinct. lack of confidence can be sometimes overcome with success in doing something in this case increasing workrate. Also a fighter can be under the illusion of working at high rate when they aren't, example of this would be moorer vs holyfield- atlas kept telling moorer to increase his workrate