Freddie Roach ruminates on MMA fighters' boxing abilities -- USA Today

USA Today

When it comes to teaching mixed martial artists how to use their hands, it's all about distance, in the view of boxing ubertrainer Freddie Roach. He tells HDNet's Ron Kruck:

"Definitely, the biggest thing is to get them to be more comfortable being closer to their opponent. In boxing, they can't use their legs for kicks and they don't need that room that they might when they are using the legs.
"I have to take into consideration that they may be kicked in their fights and so forth. That's why I ask a lot of questions and I learn as we go.

"It's like bobbing and weaving in MMA. It's really not the best move in the world to make for an MMA fighter. And I didn't realize that at first, because I forgot about the knees."



Roach also gives his take on four of the world's best MMA fighters:

• BJ Penn: "Great guy. I think he's one of the best strikers I've ever worked with. He can really punch."

• Anderson Silva: "I couldn't figure him out completely at first. In the gym, he probably goes 30 to 40%. He's just getting his timing, getting his thing going. ...

"Then I watch him on TV and I say, 'You know what? That's a whole different guy.' Now he's getting his A-game. He's giving 100% on the TV fight. I see him measure people, set things up.

"He's a very intelligent guy. He knows distance, he knows where his comfort zone is."

• Georges St. Pierre: "I'd like to work with him, though, because he's a talented guy. He's a very intelligent fighter. "

• Fedor Emelianenko: "I would like to work with him. His balance isn't that good. He's flat-footed a lot. He's kind of easy to box if you use in-and-out or side-to-side motion.

"He can be outboxed, but the thing is, he's such a good puncher -- you've got to be careful with that. ... He's one of the most complete fighters out there."

Roach believes that his current superstar, Manny Pacquiao, would have the best chance of any boxer to do well in MMA because of his speed. Conversely, Roach still believes the MMA fighter most associated with him, Andrei Arlovski, could be a successful heavyweight boxer.

But Roach sees a brighter future for MMA in the long run.

"I think the boxing promoters have really lost sight of entertaining the people," Roach tells Kruck. "You get a good main event, but then the undercard is crap because they don't want to spend the money."

(Posted by Sergio Non)

Source: content.usatoday.com

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