MANILA, Philippines - Malaki na ang ipinagbago ni dating world light heavyweight champion Michael Moorer mula sa pagiging isang boxer hanggang sa pagkilos bilang trainer.
Ang 41-anyos na si Moorer ay nagbitbit ng 52-4-1 win-loss-draw ring record kasama ang 40 KOs bilang kampeon sa World Boxing Organization (WBO) light heavyweight class at sa World Boxing Association (WBA) at International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight division.
Kinuha ni trainer Freddie Roach si Moorer bilang assistant para makatuwang niya sa paghahanda ni Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao sa kanyang Wildcard Boxing Gym.
“Michael’s a pretty good teacher,” ani Roach kay Moorer sa panayam ng Sky Sports. “He told me he was going to come down to the gym one day. So I said, ‘Why don’t you come and help me, Michael?’ He’s a really, really different person now he’s a trainer, he wasn’t always a nice person as a fighter.”
Ilan sa mga makukulay na naging laban ng 6-foot-2 na si Moorer ay ang kanyang tenth-round KO loss kay George Foreman noong Nobyembre ng 1994.
Maliban kay Pacquiao, iginigiya rin ni Moorer si Briton lightweight sensation Amir Khan, nakatakdang sagupain si Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera sa Linggo sa England.
“Everything’s good, I love what I do,” sabi ni Moorer. “I love being a teacher. I’m trying to teach mental toughness, because you have to have that in boxing. I know I was difficult to train at times, but I don’t carry that around with me now. If fighters are receptive to what I’m teaching them then they’ll amount to something I believe, because I had great teachers.”
Samantala, isasaere na ang four-episode series ng HBO Sports na “24/7” sa Abril 11 para sa laban nina Pac-quiao at Briton world light welterweight titlist Ricky Hatton.
“This latest edition of 24/7 features two of the most talented and personable fighters in boxing today,” wika ni HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg. (Russell Cadayona)