Freddy Roach: Cotto is in decline

Roach spoke of both DLH's and Hatton's deterioration before Pac got to them......the thing about Roach is that alot of what he says is true but detrimental to his fighter getting the respect from the hardcore fans looking for Pacquiao to match up against a fighter fighting at the top of his game.

So far from Pacquiao's move up from 130 lbs, Pac has fought fighters not at the top of their games.

DLH past prime not fighting at a high level before facing Pac.

Hatton having got KO'd in a fight where Mayweather actually fought Hatton's fight.

......and Cotto having gotten beaten down by Margarito, and not having looked like he's anywhere near the form he was pre-Margarito.

Roach is right, but he should keep his mouth shut as to not to take away from Pac's victories in the ring.
.....as it stands now, what Roach is basically saying is that they're on a mission to match Pacquiao up with hasbeen's.:!::nut

 

Roach speaks the truth and people criticize him for it. They shouldn't. And also Roach saying something does not automatically make it true. And just cause something wasn't said doesn't mean its not so.

Roach is an authority in this sport for sure but at the end of the day people need to make their own opinions.

 

when did Roach speak of Hatton's deterioration?

 

I dont hear or see Roach saying Cotto is a shot fighter as such.I do see him saying Cotto is in decline.....to me that means Roach has taken note that Cotto has lost some of his speed, strength or mobility compared to his earlier days. Its in those areas of decline that the fight plan will be built around do you think?.

Im sure that some see Roachs observations as being outrageous,but they seem fair reasonable observations to me.

The fact that he has pointed out that DLH and Hatton were expected to be "easy" fights kind of tells me that he is not trying to pull the wool over anybodys eyes by pretending they had just beaten the very best in form fighters around......because they were keeping it real and not deluding themselves.They were good wins,but the level of competition is on the rise.

The Cotto vs Pacman fight will prove who is the best of these two fighters on the night......and i wouldnt call Cotto or Pac a cherry picked opponent either.A dangerous, career defining fight with two seasoned vets involved has the makings of a great fight for us all to watch.

 

Pac is the harder puncher and better fighter p4p. But I don't think he'll be the harder puncher between the two. Those KO's had more to do with Pac's speed enabling him to place perfect hard shots they didn't see coming. And even so Diaz still took a big amount of accumulated damage before Manny got him with the right punch. I don't think that proves Manny has heavier hands than Cotto (which is what I understand by a hard puncher).

 

You forgot EM2 and EM3! :hat

 

You call that 2 point loss, headbutted, bloodied but still fighting a HUMILIATION? You must haven't heard CAMPBELL vs BRADLEY fight! :hat

 

He said it many times that the Hatton pre-Mayweather who was basically a rough and tumble fighter and that that Hatton was a more dangerous fighter than the Hatton Mayweather Sr. was trying to teach to box.


If you dont see the deterioration from Hatton post Mayweather, the fighter that was put on ***** street by a middle of the pack Juan Lazcano but was possibly saved by the hometown referee, I dont know what to tell you.

 

All good points Kirk. Cotto has the better basic skills set but talent wise Pacquiao is much better. What's funny though is that Cotto could be on the decline and still win this fight if the size happens to be a factor on the night of the fight.

 

:good

 

I don't think Cotto will be able to really sit down on his punches and land flush on Pac, he is going to be too quick on his feet and too sharp with his punches to allow Cotto to command the positioning...

I would go with Roach on this, I think he's right.

although I am curious to see how Pac reacts if he is hit with a flush power shot from Cotto. Neither Hatton or DLH really ever landed anything significant.... so I still think Pac's chin is untested against these bigger guys.

 

they'd be surprised on how easily pac will KO cotto...

 

Not really, Cotto is still a top fighter and he proved it in his last fight against a top welter. Of course he hasn't looked as good as he did when he beat mosley, but he is still a top fighter and a good win for Pacquiao if he beats him.

 

Pac is so damn humble and won't say anything bad about his opponents so Roach is saying these things for him. Is Roach really seeing something in Cotto that fans don't see? Remains to be seen, I guess. I'm still sticking to my prediction that Cotto will get stopped due to cuts.

 

Excellent point, Uli.

By saying that, Roach basically increases the perception that team Pac chose to fight a faded version of Cotto (I don't agree with this), and in consequence degrades Pac's potential win.