Shavkat Rakhimov enters the lion’s den on Saturday for the first defence of his IBF super featherweight world title against former champion Joe Cordina in Cardiff.
Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14 KOs) won the vacant belt against Zelfa Barrett in Abu Dhabi last November after the IBF stripped Cordina (15-0, 9 KOs), who suffered a broken hand and was unable to fulfil a mandatory date.
The Welshman claimed the crown last June with a spectacular one-punch KO of Kenichi Ogawa and his hometown crowd will be baying for blood.
In such a pressure cooker situation, the big-punching Tajikistani will feel fortunate to have one of the most respected trainers of all time in his corner.
Coaching world champions through potentially tricky moments is nothing new for Freddie Roach. Here we look at some of the best fighters the Hall of Fame trainer has worked alongside.
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Manny Pacquiao
Roach’s most famous pupil. Pacquiao knocked out South Africa’s Lehlo Ledwaba to win the IBF super bantamweight title in their first fight together, the second of an eventual eight weight categories in which he would rule over the course of one of the greatest careers in boxing history.
From his four fights with Juan Manuel Marquez to blockbuster wins over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and Tim Bradley, along with the long overdue and ultimately underwhelming shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr, Pacquiao fought them all. Roach was there as his trusty second every step of the way.
Amir Khan
A lot of the shine had come off Khan, the golden boy of British boxing in the 2000s, by the time Roach got his hands on him. The 2004 Olympic silver medalist had seen his unbeaten professional record go up in smoke as he was demolished by KO specialist Bredis Prescott inside a minute. In the second fight of a rebuilding job, Khan beat Marco Antonio Barrera in what proved to be the Mexican great’s final career defeat.
In the third, he stepped up in weight to produce a masterful performance and take the WBA super lightweight title from Andriy Kotelnik. Khan’s US years followed and wins over Paul Malignaggi, Marcos Maidana, and a unification triumph over Zab Judah stand as his finest period. Khan split with Roach after losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia — the former controversial, the latter comprehensive — and despite a notable stretch of wins over Luis Collazo, Devon Alexander, and Chris Algieri, he never reigned again as a world champion without Roach in his corner.
Virgil Hill
Where it all began for Roach the coach. Hill asked Roach to work as his chief second on account of the great Eddie Futch having his hands full with Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks, among others. After a year together, Hill knocked out Leslie Stewart to win the WBA light heavyweight title. He defended the title 10 times, concluding with a decision loss to ageing superstar Tommy Hearns in 1991. Victory over Frank Tate the following year kickstarted another lengthy reign. Hill later became a two-time cruiserweight champion
James Toney
Roach rates the lavishly gifted Toney as the most talented fighter he has ever trained. He took charge of the majestic, mercurial former middleweight champion for his best run-up in the weight classes. Toney produced a masterpiece to dethrone then-unbeaten IBF cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov in April 2003. Six months later, he stepped up to defeat veteran heavyweight great Evander Holyfield, decking "The Real Deal" in round nine before the towel came in.
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Miguel Cotto
Roach helped to mastermind Pacquiao’s punishing 2009 beatdown of Cotto and the great Puerto Rican appeared to have nowhere left to go three years later after back-to-back super welterweight title losses to Mayweather and Austin Trout. But a union with Roach prompted a glorious autumn in one of the most distinguished careers of the modern era.
After blowing away Delvin Rodriguez in three rounds, Cotto stepped up to middleweight to take on esteemed champion Sergio Martinez. The result was startling as he decked his Argentinian foe three times in round one, eventually battering him to a 10th-round defeat. “A lot of people said that Michael Jordan wouldn’t be Jordan without [Scottie] Pippen. I think I’ve found my Pippen in Freddie Roach,” Cotto had told reporters during fight week. He backed it up with victory over Daniel Geale before losing to pound-for-pound superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2015.
Did Freddie Roach train Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya?
As his renaissance jobs with Toney and Cotto indicate, Roach’s reputation means he’s also been a gun-for-hire for multiple huge names in the sport. He coached Oscar De La Hoya for a solitary fight, his gargantuan pound-for-pound showdown with Mayweather.
He was unable to resuscitate Mike Tyson’s career when the Baddest Man on the Planet linked up with him in 2003. Tyson roared to a quickfire KO win over Clifford Etienne but was then stopped by former British heavyweight champion Danny Williams.
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