"He's 100% ready for this fight. It's going to be a great fight, and we are looking for a knockout in this fight, and we will be the first person to knock out Alvarez, and I can't wait to get this one on its way...Mayweather was a tough fighter but not a big puncher, and this is the first heavy puncher he's going against, and Miguel has looked great in his last three fights, and his punching power is improving, and he's using every bit of his body weight to do that, and it's something we have been working on, and he's punching very well," stated Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who recently spoke during a conference call to promote the upcoming November 21 clash between WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former jr. middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Check out what else he had to say!
FREDDIE ROACH CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT:
FREDDIE ROACH: Thank you. Well, Miguel is in training. We have had a great training camp. We have gone through about eight sparring partners, and sparring has worked out well for us. We have maybe two more spars to go, and he's 100% ready for this fight. It's going to be a great fight, and we are looking for a knockout in this fight, and we will be the first person to knock out Alvarez, and I can't wait to get this one on its way. Don't miss this fight. It will be great.
Q. Freddie, I would like to ask you about that. You have trained lots of great fighters in your career. Can you talk about your perspective on what Miguel said as far as the chemistry between you guys? Why has it worked so well for you in the recent fights that you've been together, where he's looked obviously a lot sharper than maybe he's looked in the few fights that he had right before he joined up with you?
FREDDIE ROACH: We have a lot of respect for each other, and you know we had a history going against each other, even, with the Pacquiao fight, but the thing is, we became friends, and he called me up and asked if I could help and, you know, it was like one of the best phone calls I've ever gotten. I was shocked that a fighter of that caliber called and asked me to give him a hand, and it has worked out really well. We get along really well. My whole camp gets along well with his camp, Marvin and all the guys, you know, we all get along. We train really hard together. It's a team effort, and it works well together, everything fits perfectly. We've had three great fights so far, and I expect the best one to be coming up soon.
Q. Why, then, Freddie do you think it's worked so well?
FREDDIE ROACH: Well, just relationships, you know, the thing is we respect each other, and we listen to each other and we talk about the game plan, and we have no tempers with each other; we work very well together. That's just what it is, basically. I mean, it's just that we have a lot of respect, and the thing is to get along in training and -- is very important and to listen to each other, and it goes both ways, of course, because you know if he's not comfortable with something, we'll make an adjustment to make it right and there are no secrets -- everything is on the table.
So we work very well together, and I'm very happy to be here right now, and I'm looking forward to the fight.
Q. Freddie, you said in your opening remarks, you predicted a knockout. You predict knockouts for all of your guys. What makes you think Canelo, who has got hurt a couple of times earlier in his career but never been in that kind of serious trouble except, frankly, against Miguel's brother, but that's a long, long time ago. What makes you think he can knock him out, besides just win?
FREDDIE ROACH: I think the caliber of fighter. I think this is the best fighter he's ever fought, and I think he's handpicked opponents. Mayweather was a tough fighter but not a big puncher, and this is the first heavy puncher he's going against, and Miguel has looked great in his last three fights, and his punching power is improving, and he's using every bit of his body weight to do that, and it's something we have been working on, and he's punching very well.
I feel that this guy gets hit too much, and I think Miguel will knock him out somewhere along the way.
Q. Freddie, I know the kind of thing from Miguel when he fights a middleweight is that his opponent is going to be naturally bigger. Canelo is a full division heavier than him, so without giving away your game plan, I want to hear from you what you think Miguel's best attribute is to go against the fact that Canelo has a natural size advantage?
FREDDIE ROACH: You know, I think we're much faster; I think Canelo is a little bit slower. He tends to box, and punch, lets you know when he's going to throw, and he tucks and ducks and so forth. But, you know, he's a good fighter right now, but we're in really, really good shape and had a great training camp, and coming off three good wins, and we have momentum going for us. It's the winner of the fight that counts, and that's what we're going to do. We're here to win the fight, whatever it takes.
If we have to box this guy, we will box him. If he wants to slug with us, that's no problem, we're ready for that, also. We have had, like, eight sparring partners so far, we have had punchers, boxers, everybody is at the table and ready for it, and I think Miguel is the more intelligent and the smarter fighter, and I think that's who's going to win the fight.
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Cotto vs. Canelo, a 12-round fight for Cotto's WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championships, takes place Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The fight is presented by Roc Nation Sports, Golden Boy Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra; Mexico, Live it to Believe it!; O'Reilly Auto Parts; Tequila Cazadores and Corporate Travel Made Simple (ctms). Also featured on the pay-per-view telecast will be Takashi Muira vs. Francisco Vargas in a 12-round fight for the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship presented in association with Teiken Promotions and Jayson Velez vs. Ronny Rios is a 10-round featherweight. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Randy Caballero vs. Lee Haskins, a 12-round fight for the IBF Bantamweight World Championship, is presented in association with Bristol Boxing Ltd. and will be featured as part of the preliminary undercards available on digital platforms starting at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.
A limited number of tickets priced at $2,000, $1,750, $1,250 and $650, not including applicable service charges, can be purchased at the Mandalay Bay box office, ticketmaster.com, mandalaybay.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. Ticket orders are limited to four per person.
Tickets for closed circuit viewings of Cotto vs. Canelo at select MGM Resorts International properties in Las Vegas are priced at $75, not including applicable service charges, and can be purchased at all MGM Resorts International Ticket Offices, http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.
Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Alvarez will be presented live with Fathom Events in select theaters nationwide. Tickets for theater screenings of Cotto vs. Canelo can be purchased online by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations visit www.fathomevents.com/event/cotto-vs-canelo-live.
Sports bars, restaurants, casinos (outside of Clark County, Nevada) and other commercial establishments can order Cotto vs. Canelo by contacting Joe Hand Promotions at (800) 557-4263 or by visiting www.JoeHandPromotions.com. Joe Hand Promotions is the exclusive commercial distributor for Cotto vs. Canelo throughout the United States and Canada.
For more information, visit www.rocnation.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.promocionesmiguelcotto.com, www.canelopromotions.com.mxwww.hbo.com/boxing and www.mandalaybay.com; follow on Twitter at @RocNation, @GoldenBoyBoxing, @RealMiguelCotto, @Canelo, @HBOBoxing, and @MandalayBay; become a fan on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/RocNation, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/RealMiguelACotto, www.facebook.com/SaulCaneloAlvarez, www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing and www.facebook.com/MandalayBay; and follow on Instagram @rocnation, @GoldenBoyBoxing, @realmiguelacotto, @Canelo, @HBOboxing and @MandalayBay. Follow the conversation using #CottoCanelo.