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03/29/2024 10:56:48 am

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Freddie Roach Discloses Game Plan Against Canelo Alvarez, Believes Miguel Cotto Will Take Over From Round 5 Onward

Miguel Cotto (R) and Freddie Roach

(Photo : Getty Images) Four-division world champion and current middleweight lineal champion Miguel Cotto (R) does the mitts with trainer Freddie Roach during training ahead of the Puerto Rican's match versus Mexican Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas on November 21.

Multiple award winning boxing trainer Freddie Roach may have accidentally divulged the game plan of four-division world champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) when he faces Mexican sensation Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) on November 21st at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

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The 35-year-old Puerto Rican legend is scheduled to defend his WBC and Ring Middleweight titles against Canelo.

In an interview with Boxing News Online's George Gigney, Roach said that the plan is to take out Álvarez's legs initially in the first few rounds, hitting and breaking his body down slowly before going for the kill in the middle and later fight.

"I think we'll give Canelo a boxing lesson for about five rounds and then I think we'll turn it up from that point on," the 55-year-old seven-time Boxing Writers Association of America Trainer of the Year award winner said. "After five, I am going to have Miguel go out there and trade with him a little bit and when Canelo slows down a little bit, I think we will knock him out in about eight or nine rounds."

That basically sums up Roach and Cotto's strategy to defeat the brawling light middleweight fighter and it is as good as any plan they could devise against the much younger Canelo, who at only 25 years old has already been in 47 professional fights, including one of the highest-grossing pay-per-view matches ever with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013.

Boxing News 24's Dan Ambrose reported that Roach "expects Cotto to rearrange Canelo's face" during the fight, primarily with the Puerto Rican's heavy jabs that relentlessly come down like power punches.

While Canelo has youth on his side, it is widely known in boxing circles that he has an issue about with conditioning. This is why Roach plan's to wear him out in the fight makes a lot of sense.

Ambrose said that Canelo always moves forward, making his face an easy target for Cotto's jabs as the Puerto Rican only has to wait for him to come near every time.

Canelo is more of an inside fighter and brawler who destroys his opponents, while Cotto is a more versatile and technically sound boxer who can duke it out inside and out. The contrasting styles of both fighters is the perfect recipe for a highly entertaining bout.

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