BoxRec

What a list of great trainers that is, but if you had to choose one to devise a strategy for you & to take you into battle, who would get your vote?

Personally, I'd favour Eddie Futch. To me, Futch was the man with the master plan. All of them are great trainers though!

Difficult to split Futch & Arcel, who're the stand-outs, IMO.

Dundee does not belong

Larry Holmes did away with Futch coz "Eddie Don't Holler" Sugar Ray Leonard's rematch with Hearns cost him dearly coz he did away with Angelo. Ever hear Ange go inside a fighters mind and bitch? It never fails to be just what the doctor ordered!

Screaming in hysterics at shaken fighters certainly wasn't, "just what the dcotor ordered."

Dundee was a clever cornerman, but one who made too many mistakes to be on this list.

Mistakes??
Like cutting Clays glove to keep him from getting knocked out and have him win the same fight by TKO??

None of the above.

I'd take Charlie Goldman over all five.

Come on guys........Dundee is heads and tails above the rest.


"You're blow'n it son, your blow'n it!!

Eddie Futch, Ray Arcel, Angelo Dundee, Emanuel Steward, George Benton. Regardless of who was the best they are all great and you could not go wrong with anyone of these guys in your corner. Let's not forget that these guys bring some resume to the table and worked with, learned from past masters and seen many great fighters of the past. As these guys are gone from the sport we will lose that history and experience in the gyms. We are counting on guys now like Buddy McGirt and Freddie Roach to be the masters of the next 20 years.

Dundee is a fraud compared with the line-up on display here.

Boxing casuals abound.

So I'm a boxing casual huh?
What did Lord Mountbatton, Prince of Wales et all say about?

"Do-Dos from down under"


Definitely a low one but I couldn't help it.

slakka wrote:So I'm a boxing casual huh?
What did Lord Mountbatton, Prince of Wales et all say about?

"Do-Dos from down under"


Definitely a low one but I couldn't help it.

What a rapier wit. Insightful, relevant, & a boxing casual, to boot.

slakka wrote:So I'm a boxing casual huh?
What did Lord Mountbatton, Prince of Wales et all say about?

"Do-Dos from down under"


Definitely a low one but I couldn't help it.

perhaps you should try and help yourself.

No im a boxing snazzual!
Thats and old Ringo Starrr riff, remember Mods? Rockers?
No we're knockers!

Love it!

For me; Futch. I've always felt he improved a fighter both physically and mentally. And his protegé is continuing his legacy imo.

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:For me; Futch. I've always felt he improved a fighter both physically and mentally. And his protegé is continuing his legacy imo.

Skilled teacher no doubt, the only thing that irritated me about Futch was that he was always willing to take the plaudits when one of his guys won, but was usually the invisible man when they lost.

Charlie Goldman had Canzoneri and others obviously, but he was in partnership for other fighters yet with Broadway Charley, Charlie Rose - the Star Maker; so I think this pair together or alone rate among the top trainers & handlers.

Flump wrote:

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:For me; Futch. I've always felt he improved a fighter both physically and mentally. And his protegé is continuing his legacy imo.

Skilled teacher no doubt, the only thing that irritated me about Futch was that he was always willing to take the plaudits when one of his guys won, but was usually the invisible man when they lost.

I think that's a bit harsh to be honest. Spinks was annihilated by Tyson & Futch was the first to admit that the game-plan went out the window as soon as Tyson connected cleanly. Futch gave Tyson credit for the performance & acknowledged that the better man won!

You can't win them all...

I'd go with Ray Arcel.

Folks, I have known a few of the guys mentioned and seen them work up close. Johnny Coulon -not yet mentioned but deserves to be- worked my corners and I worked corners against Dundee and saw Arcel train Duran in Miami and..... well, there's Ray Arcel and to me he's the best there ever was.

Charlie Goldman was the GOAT....

All of these guys were great. Sure you can point to fights that their fighters lost, but they certainly all had more than their share of great moments.
Not sure what the criticism about Dundee is about. It's not like he just made it big with super talents like Ali and Leonard.
Willie Pastrano wasn't highly regarded and Dundee took him to the lightheavyweight title.
Jimmy Ellis wasn't considered anything when Dundee started with him and he won the WBA heavyweight title with him. Even Carmen Basilio wasn't some super talent.

Right!

Ange gameplanned Ellises victory over at that time strict counterpuncher Quarry to a tee!

Chappy Blackburn deserves some time in the sun...

The thread starter is asking who you would want in your corner. Not who the greatest trainer of all time is.
Its more complicated than just picking out a big name guy.
You have to find a guy to train you who you feel comfortable with. A guy who you feel can teach you to fight and is looking out for your best interest and of course, safety. Its gotta be a good fit personality wise.
Some fighters need coddling, some need to be screamed at,some need psychology, some need constant encouragement, etc etc.
I always felt I could have worked real well with Pat and Goody Petronelli.
They were loyal to a fighter,didnt fu.. with jerk off promoters , at least to my knowledge,were real good teachers, and ran a very calm corner.
Some people say they should have started screaming at Hagler to get going in the Leonard fight.
Marvin wasnt a fighter who responded to that I dont think.
It was always cool and calm in their corners.I dont like the yelling and screaming and drama in a corner.
Again, you have to find out what works best for you, the fighter. I think I could have worked with them real well.
But again, thats me. They might not have been a good fit for everyone.

I agree that the trainer has to be compatible with the personality of the fighter. A trainer who may be quite knowledgeable about strategy and technique might not work well certain fighters.

However, there are some great trainers who can adapt to the personality of each of their fighters.

Another point to consider is that there are probably many trainers that aren't well known that just weren't fortunate enough to get fighters that had enough talent/ambition to be a top fighter. They may be just as knowledgeable and good but just never got the talented fighters to work with. They may have been able to make a mediocre fighter up a level, but can't take them all the way to the top. How good the fighter naturally is of course important.