LOUIE BURKE, the trainer of Austin Trout, the last man to beat Miguel Cotto, looked forward to the great Puerto Rican’s clash with Daniel Geale on Saturday (June 6). He wasn’t sure how much to read into Cotto’s WBC middleweight title victory over Sergio Martinez.
“Martinez was definitely not in his prime [against Cotto] and he was suffering some injuries, so itโs really hard to make a judgement [on Cotto] off of that fight, but he did look good, he did look good. Itโs just hard to tell how far Martinez was gone, or how badly he was injured, so itโs hard to make an accurate assessment off that fight,” Burke told Boxing News. “But Cotto did look good, he looked great in that fight, he did something nobody else did โ taking Martinez apart like that. I think Cotto still has a lot left in the gas tank, this fight [against Daniel Geale] will be a good gauge to see where heโs at.
“Just being with Freddie [Roach] brings an aura, another ace in the game. Freddieโs obviously one of the best in the business, and just being with him gives you more confidence going into a fight, with his experience. That itself is a big plus. Freddie has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. People say โFreddieโs not fightingโ but it does bring something to the table. I trained under Angelo Dundee and felt how somebody of that stature being in your cornerโฆ It helps a lot.”
FOR IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF COTTO’S NEXT FIGHT DON’T MISS THE LATEST ISSUE OF BOXING NEWS