Roach BWAA top trainer for 6th straight year

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach has been named 2013 Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year by the prestigious Boxing Writers Association of America, the sixth time he has been chosen for the award.

Roach won the plum on the strength of the excellent work he did for his prized wards Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Ruslan Provodnikov, who all won their fights the past year.

Pacquiao returned to his winning ways with a one-sided beating of Brandon Rios in Macau last November, while Cotto was impressive in his third-round knockout victory over  Delvin Rodriguez a month before.

In the same month, Provodnikov stopped Mike Alvarado in the 10th round to annex the WBO junior welterweight title. Roach likewise trained Provodnikov for that title bout, although the bespectacled trainer wasn’t around during the actual fight because he was working with Pacquiao in the Philippines then.

Assistant trainer Marvin Somodio stepped in for Roach and helped guide Provodnikov to victory.

“It’s nice to be back in the mix. We had a bad year (in 2012) and we had a much better year (in 2013),” Roach said in an ESPN.com report by Dan Rafael.

Roach’s six BWAA Trainer of the Year plums is the most by any cornerman in boxing history.

“No. 6? I love being recognized for what we do but without the fighters I wouldn’t be here,” added Roach, who also took home the award – in 2003, 2006 and 2008-2010.

The award is named after the late trainer Eddie Futch, who interestingly is Roach’s mentor.

Meanwhile, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the 2013 Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year on account of his dominant wins over Robert Guerrero and Saul Alvarez. WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who faces Pacquiao in a rematch on April 12, will receive the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier Fight of the Year award for his slugfest with Provodnikov.

The BWAA said the winners will be feted at a banquet either in May or June.