Norman Einstein's
ISSUE 07 (12/09)
"Know Your Corner"
by Jason Clinkscales
[Jason is a staff sportswriter for the New York Beacon, an African-American weekly in New York City. He is also the schizophrenic mind behind a Sports Scribe. Follow him on Twitter to glimpse the rapid-fire method to his madness.]
Leading up to last month's superfight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, much was made about the relative inexperience of Cotto's trainer, Joe Santiago.
For those uninitiated to the boxing world, Cotto had been trained by his uncle, Evangelista, for his entire amateur and most of his professional career. However, shortly after capturing the vacant WBO welterweight title in February, the often frosty relationship was severed with a physical confrontation between the two. That led Miguel to fire Evangelista. Santiago, who was an assistant trainer and nutritionist in the Cotto camp, was named the lead corner man.
It all seemed bizarre not because family members had disagreements as they are not uncommon in the boxing world - just ask Floyd Mayweather, Jr. - but because the young Santiago had never been a fighter himself. Though he helped Cotto's dietary habits and conditioning, all eyes would be upon him for how he would relay strategy during a high-stakes bout.
It's a widely-held belief among outsiders that once the bell rings, a boxer's corner is rendered useless; that all the shouting and chatter during the fight means nothing because he or she is too busy getting tagged with hooks, jabs, and crosses to listen.
The most successful pugilists, however, will testify that strong relationships with their corner men - trainers and their assistants, cut men and doctors - are paramount to any ascension through the ranks.
Ashley Theophane has made a name for in the United Kingdom's boxing world. The London-reared welterweight has a 25-3-1 record in fights between England, Germany and the United States. Little known Stateside, Ashley "Treasure" Theophane does have a common opponent with Cotto; a unanimous decision victory over former lightweight and junior welterweight titlist Demarcus "Chop Chop" Corley in 2008. Cotto registered a technical knockout over Corley in his native Puerto Rico three years earlier.
As any combat fighter, be it boxing, kickboxing or mixed martial arts, your strategies are in the weeks of running, lifting and sparring. "When you are training for a fight you have to get your body is supreme conditioning and building a strategy for a fight is as important," says Theophane. "You have to focus on your own strengths but look at your opponent's weaknesses and certain bad habits they have."
Yet what makes sports so wonderful and maddening are when an athlete's strengths are neutralized, typically forcing someone to make adjustments... many times, on the fly. In boxing, how those changes are made defines careers in an instant. Going back to that common opponent, Theophane shared insights on that bout as he believed he wouldn't have forged through without his corner.
In the fight prior to facing Corley, Theophane dislocated his right hand and was unable to use it for five weeks without excruciating pain. Though he sparred with two other world title contenders, he knew that dealing with a crafty veteran for ten rounds was that much more challenging with an injured hand. "I was in great shape and believed that I could win," Theophane reflected. "The first two rounds, I showed too much respect to Corley and I was apprehensive with my right hand, but (trainers) Harry Keit and Francisco Guzman told me to show him no respect and gave me some great advice through the rounds. I ended up winning the fight and I owe a great deal to them for their great advice through the bout."
Some boxing observers have speculated that Cotto, not Santiago, was running the show in the last two bouts. In the last installment of HBO's brilliant "24/7" series leading up to the Pacquiao bout, you saw that once camp moved from Puerto Rico to Tampa, Florida - a major point of contention between Evangelista and Miguel was this hoped move - there appeared to have been a calm, laid-back environment where there was as much emphasis on kidding around as being serious in training. Though Santiago had more dialogue with Miguel than Evangelista, there was plenty unseen in the half-hour shows, leaving to more speculation that the fighter set the tone, not the trainer who is typically charged with such responsibility.
There may be proof to that rumor as Santiago's critics will point to his responses between rounds in the latter half of the bout. Clearly, viewers saw Santiago ask Cotto if he wants to go another round in each break before trying to set forth a strategy. "Watching the fight, I think Cotto's tactics where terrible," Theophane said. "He did much better when he boxed Manny Pacquiao. When he traded he got tagged and eaten up." Typically, the first reaction from a trainer would be to scream at his fighter to do something; stay away from the ropes, throw a few more jabs, etc. Yet, there had to have been unquestionable resignation in Cotto's corner, knowing that Pacquiao was pelting his opponent with greater ease as the fight wore on.
Credit: Sunriserjay appreciate's 9000+streamers... !!:) (Flickr)
Maybe Joe Santiago is akin to the sabermetric bean-counting types that infiltrated baseball in the last decade; someone who doesn't need to have experience in the sport to understand how his man can attain success. Yet, unlike team sports where traditional non-participants can take part in day-to-day operations with little to no public scrutiny, every member of a boxer's camp is exposed to heavy criticism. From respected blogs such as Bad Left Hook to venerable boxing scribes like Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole to trainers such as Felix Trinidad Sr. (also the father of former three-division champ, Felix "Tito"), plenty felt that Santiago walked in with no game plan and put Cotto at unnecessary risk.
Santiago has been at the helm for two title fights, but as crazy as it sounds, it may still be a while to determine if this truly has deteriorating effects on Cotto's career. An example of a fighter who Theophane sees as being hurt by such a shift in direction is Jermain Taylor, the former universally-recognized middleweight champion that has lost four of his last five bouts. "He is a talented fighter but something is not there. He has always had a fitness problem and now it is all starting to take its toll. Some trainers can ruin a fighter, so it is a balance."
No matter what is believed, until Miguel Cotto makes a statement, there is no question that he has faith in what Santiago will provide in his future fights. "The key is for there to be a relationship as the fighter needs to trust the trainer. If there is no trust, there is nothing."
For plenty of boxers, regardless of weight class, geography or status, that bond is their most powerful weapon they have in the ring.
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