Legendary Wild Card Gym trainer Freddie Roach believes that Conor McGregor lacks the tools necessary to trouble Floyd Mayweather Jr. Roach, who trained McGregor’s fellow Dubliner Steve Collins in the 90’s as well as Floyd Mayweather nemesis Manny Pacquaio, had initially given the UFC lightweight champion a puncher’s chance. In an interview with MMAFighting in […]
Legendary Wild Card Gym trainer Freddie Roach believes that Conor McGregor lacks the tools necessary to trouble Floyd Mayweather Jr. Roach, who trained McGregor’s fellow Dubliner Steve Collins in the 90’s as well as Floyd Mayweather nemesis Manny Pacquaio, had initially given the UFC lightweight champion a puncher’s chance. In an interview with MMAFighting in […]
Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his long awaited return to the Octagon later this year when he takes on middleweight titleholder Michael Bipsing, and it appears as if St. Pierre will have a new face in his corner for the bout. “Rush” has worked with legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach
Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his long awaited return to the Octagon later this year when he takes on middleweight titleholder Michael Bipsing, and it appears as if St. Pierre will have a new face in his corner for the bout.
“Rush” has worked with legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach for years now, but Roach has never been in his corner, although that will soon change:
“I promised Georges I’ll be in his corner,” Roach told The Boston Herald. “That would be my first time in a corner for MMA, yes. It’s a little bit different, obviously, but the thing is, you have different coaches. And one thing I know about coaching is that people only listen to one person. So somebody will be in control of what’s going on, and we’ll all work together while the round’s going on and help each other.”
St. Pierre has long trained under the tutelage of Firas Zahabi at the famed Tristar Gym in Canada. It’s likely that Zahabi will remain in his corner, but Roach actually feels as if he’ll be the main speaker on fight night:
“Who’s going to be the speaker that night is whoever Georges is most comfortable with, and it will probably be me, I think, but we’ll see how that goes,” Roach said. “I think Georges has a lot of confidence in me, and I in him.”
As far as St. Pierre’s return bout goes, Roach seems to be confident. The Canadian will obviously be at a size disadvantage, but Roach believes that “Rush” is ‘too much of an athlete’ for Bisping:
“I think Georges is too much of an athlete, too skillful for him,” Roach said. “I know Georges’ number one game is not striking, but he is getting better and better at it, and I feel that going into this fight he’s going to be really confident.”
What do you make of Roach being in the corner of GSP?
The hoopla surrounding a potential boxing bout between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather continues. When a report surfaced of Mayweather and McGregor agreeing to terms on a boxing match-up, it got everyone from sports to the mainstream media talking. Those talks were heightened when ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claimed “Money” told him a deal with […]
The hoopla surrounding a potential boxing bout between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather continues. When a report surfaced of Mayweather and McGregor agreeing to terms on a boxing match-up, it got everyone from sports to the mainstream media talking. Those talks were heightened when ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claimed “Money” told him a deal with […]
Freddie Roach is on board for Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather. The legendary boxing coach joined MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on today’s (Mon. February 20, 2017) episode of The MMA Hour (quotes via MMA Mania) and revealed that ‘Money’ actually stopped by his gym to reveal to him that he will be fighting ‘The Notorious
Freddie Roach is on board for Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.
The legendary boxing coach joined MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on today’s (Mon. February 20, 2017) episode of The MMA Hour(quotes via MMA Mania) and revealed that ‘Money’ actually stopped by his gym to reveal to him that he will be fighting ‘The Notorious One’:
“Floyd actually came to my gym and told me, Freddie, I hear Conor talked to you.’ And I told him that he never has. He said, ‘If he reaches out and wants you to train him, I would take that job because I am going to fight him and we can all make a lot of money,’” said Freddie.
“So, according to Mayweather, yes, he said he was going to fight him and everything is pointing in that direction. At one point I didn’t think it was possible. I tried to make a fight one time when I was training Andrei Arlovski, and I tried to put him in with one of the Klitschkos,” said Roach.
“I thought I had a good idea. I went into Ari’s office, and I hadn’t seen Ari in 10 years. At that time they said it would never happen. But, we’re in a different era now and it looks like it is going to happen. Everything’s pointing in the right direction. He will have his hands full with a boxer like Floyd, but he’s sell-able and making noise. For a while I wanted him to be Georges first fight.”
McGregor has only lost one fight in his UFC tenure, a short-notice bout with Nate Diaz at 170 pounds, and has won all but two of his Octagon victories via knockout. This past November the Irishman became the first dual-weight champion in UFC history by defeating Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their historic main event meeting for the lightweight title at Madison Square Garden.
While his striking may be viewed as some of the most elite in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) he’s staring at a possible boxing superfight against arguably the greatest defensive fighter of all time. Roach believes McGregor certainly has a puncher’s chance against Mayweather, but says he would need a long time to prepare for a boxer the caliber of ‘Money’:
“Well, he is a pretty good striker. The thing is, Floyd is a great boxer. He is good at hitting and not getting hit. It would take a long time for Conor to get ready for a pure boxing match, But, one punch can change anything, so I am not going to count him out completely. Mayweather is the favorite, yes, but I will never count anyone out. He (McGregor) throws, he throws hard and he’s not afraid to throw,” said Roach. “I like that about him. He’s sell-able, and he makes me laugh. But, when that bell rings he better be ready because he is fighting one of the best boxers of his era.”
Mayweather hasn’t boxed since his 2015 unanimous decision win over Andre Berto where he extended his historic win streak to 49-0. He has remained ‘happily retired’ since the bout but is more than willing to step back into the squared circle if the paycheck is to his liking.
To step into the ring against a young combat sports star such as McGregor, with a left hand that has been the downfall of many of his adversaries, could Floyd be taking an unnecessary risk towards his legacy if he decides to fight the UFC lightweight champ?
World renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach is no stranger to mixed martial arts (MMA). The man who has helped boxing greats such as Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, has also trained future Ultimate Fighti…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AfSyQZvNH8
World renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach is no stranger to mixed martial arts (MMA). The man who has helped boxing greats such as Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, has also trained future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer Georges St. Pierre on the “sweet science.”
Roach knows what he’s talking about when it comes to boxing. At UFC 193, Ronda Rousey suffered a loss for the first time in her career. It was a brutal knockout defeat at the hands of Holly Holm. Roach said “Rowdy’s” loss was a little “embarrassing.”
Fast forward to the aftermath of UFC 207, and the story remains the same. Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes successfully defended her title in a 48-second TKO thrashing of Rousey. TMZ Sports caught up with Roach to get his thoughts:
“Muay Thai is a stand-up fight game also. Muay Thai can go to the ground, but mostly it’s stand-up and she doesn’t do well with stand-up. Everyone has her number now.”
Roach’s assessment of the fight was short and to the point.
“(It) was 48 seconds of a beating, but that’s the fight game.”
When asked about Rousey’s mother calling for her daughter to retire, Roach didn’t disagree with her.
The MMA world saw a bit of a stir earlier today (Thurs., July 14, 2016) when a report surfaced from famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach that UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping turned down a potentially massive title bout with rumored-to-be returning former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. That seemed to be the case – at least
The MMA world saw a bit of a stir earlier today (Thurs., July 14, 2016) when a report surfaced from famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach that UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping turned down a potentially massive title bout with rumored-to-be returning former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
That seemed to be the case – at least on the surface, anyway – when UFC president Dana White revealed that Bisping would face rival and MMA legend Dan Henderson in the main event of October’s UFC 204, which was tentatively slated for ‘The Count’s’ backyard of Manchester, England.
But if and when he gets past ‘Hendo,’ Bisping quickly rebutted the notion that he had turned down any fight with St. Pierre. He took to Twitter this evening to call the Roach interview a certain brand of excrement:
Earlier in the day, Bisping had replied to a follower that while he has no bad blood towards Roach, his facts were wrong as he hadn’t even been offered the fight:
@ngxl87 I like @FreddieRoach . He must be misinformed. He's not the type to spread lies. I wasn't even offered the fight.
If you saw his on-air response to Henderson’s Team Quest teammate Sam Alvey’s bizzare quasi-callout of Bisping after defeated UFC debutee Eric Spicely in South Dakota, it’s clear that he wants nothing but to avenge his historic UFC 100 knockout loss to the revered PRide and Strikeforce champion.
Beyond that is unknown, but according to ‘The Count’s’ words, he’d most certainly take a bout against St. Pierre if offered.
With “Rush’s” comeback certain to take over as one of the top headlines in the UFC if and when it happens, he’d be foolish not to.
Mayweather hasn’t boxed since his 2015 unanimous decision win over Andre Berto where he extended his historic win streak to 49-0. He has remained ‘happily retired’ since the bout but is more than willing to step back into the squared circle if the paycheck is to his liking.