Freddie Roach Thinks Matirosyan Can Beat Cotto
Freddie Roach, perhaps summing up star Miguel Cotto too quickly, recently said that he thinks his fighter Vanes Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KO's) could defeat the star if it came down to it. Martirosyan is coming off a valuable victory against undefeated Joe Greene last month, whom he beat in a decision on the Cotto – Foreman undercard.
Roach was all business with respect to his fighter: “I think Vanes can beat Cotto. When you’re 28-0, you should be ready for anyone in the world. I told Top Rank to stop babying this kid. Vanes is calling out these guys, and he thinks he can beat Paul Williams, so let’s take one of these guys. I am all for it.”
It is important that trainers support their fighters, but whether Roach's assessment is accurate is unclear. Cotto has suffered only two defeats, at the hands of Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao, and in the former case it's now suspected illegal plaster wraps were utilized to hurt Cotto.
Martirosyan, on the other hand, can be criticized for a lack of experience, despite 28 professional bouts and over 100 amateur fights. At a certain point, professional boxing experience is predicated on quality and not quantity, and it's the first category that Martirosyan has to work on. There is little doubt that Martirosyan's win over Greene is the biggest of his career, but Greene had little to show for himself in the way of experience, and certainly not of the sort of other top-rank fighters.
At the same time, Martirosyan has stated that despite all this, he thinks he could take out Cotto or Paul Williams, the number seven ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to The Ring Magazine, and self-proclaimed “most avoided fighter.”
When asked who he would like to fight after his win over Greene, Martirosyan said: “I would love Cotto. I would love all of the top guys in the division. Mainly though I would love Paul Williams. He hasn't said anything or talked back and his people haven't said anything. I would really love to fight him. I know I could beat him and I think I would knock him out. I am ready to fight anybody.”
With confidence, he added: “whoever wants to fight lets do it. I am looking for big names though. It is not about the money. It is about me trying to how good I am. I know a lot of people are doubting me in the sport. I want to prove them wrong. I know I can beat everyone else.”
There are many who feel Martirosyan's confidence with respect to Williams doesn't match his odds of winning. Williams has defeated stars like Antonio Margarito, while Martirosyan has yet to accomplish any such thing. Both fighters aren't considered knockout specialists and that leaves Martirosyan forced to outbox Williams, who is at his best when it comes to technical boxing. It is possible to outbox a boxer, but so far Martirosyan has given us little evidence to suggest he is there yet and able to compete at a level with Williams, given Williams' degree of technical proficiency.
Miguel Cotto, despite a sole fight which he was defeated fair and square by Pacquiao, managed to put out boxing greats like Shane Mosley and Zab Judah, as well as most recently the younger Yuri Foreman. That last victory has likewise served to reestablish his confidence and also his marketability, as his name was circulated as a possible opponent for Pacquiao in a rematch at a higher weight class before it was announced he would fight Margarito.
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