Teddy's Top-10 trainers

On a recent live podcast, Hall of Fame announcer and trainer Teddy Atlas did a quick run-through of his “Top 10 Trainers."

It should be noted that he humbly left himself off the list. 

There are a lot of good trainers out there, and it is hard to narrow it down to just 10; this list could be longer. But this list highlights 10 of boxing’s best.  

*Note - Atlas did the list. I did the brief bios.

10. Freddie Roach. A good, tough fighter during his own career, he has had his greatest success in the sport as a trainer with an endless list of contenders and champions. Faced off against Atlas when Teddy was cornering Timothy Bradley, and Roach had Philippine legend Manny Pacquiao. His Los Angeles-based “Wild Card Gym” has churned out dozens of world champions and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Located on a corner of Vine Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, it is now called “Freddie Roach Square”. Along with 8-time champion Pacquiao, he has worked with five-time and four-division world champion Miguel Cotto, and three-time world champion James Toney, among many others. Freddie was inducted into the IBHF in 2012.

9. Roger Mayweather - A former 2-time world champion himself, he had 79 pro fights. He is from the famous fighting Mayweather clan of boxers with brothers Floyd and Jeff. He had great success as a trainer of his nephew Floyd Mayweather Jr., considered one of boxing’s best during his time. After years of health struggles, we lost Roger in 2020.

8. Angelo Dundee - Most famous for his long relationship with “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali.  Originally from New York City, Dundee relocated to Miami, Florida, where he worked with his brother Chris, who owned the “5th Street Gym”. Along with Ali, Dundee worked with numerous other world champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard. A wonderful, engaging character who always championed the sport. He was inducted into the IBHF in 1992. He passed at age 90, in 2012.  

7. Nacho Beristain - A legend in Mexican boxing for the number of champions he has trained. He was a pro boxer himself, but an eye injury forced him to retire. As a trainer in the amateur ranks, he led Mexico to medal wins at the 1968, 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games. As a pro trainer he has worked with a long list of champions, including Daniel Zaragoza, Juan Manuel Marquez, Rafael Marquez, Ricardo Lopez, Humberto Gonzalez, and Oscar De La Hoya, among others. He was inducted into the IBHF in 2010. 

6. Jack Blackburn - A great light heavyweight who had over 160 pro bouts. He never won a world title, but he did fight some of the greatest fighters of his (and all) time. After retiring from boxing, Blackburn trained legend Joe Louis starting in June 1934, shortly before Louis’s pro debut. Blackburn’s crowning moment as a trainer came in June of 1937 when Joe Louis took the world heavyweight championship from Jim Braddock at Comiskey Park in Chicago with a KO 8.  Blackburn also worked with light heavyweight champion John Henry Lewis, bantamweight champion Bud Taylor, as well as Art Lasky, Jackie Fields, Lew Tendler, Sailor Freedman, and Von Porat. He also trained Jersey Joe Walcott for a short time. Certainly, one of the early legends in boxing training.

5. Eddie Futch - A quiet, well-spoken master trainer. Futch moved to Detroit, Michigan as a young boy. He later took up boxing, and in 1932, Futch won the Detroit Athletic Association lightweight championship, and in 1935, he won the Detroit Golden Gloves. He trained at the same gym as Joe Louis and often sparred with him. A heart issue prevented Futch from turning professional, and he began training boxers. As a trainer, he handled Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick. He also worked with Riddick Bowe, Ireland’s Wayne McCullough, future Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, and others. Futch was inducted into the IBHF in 1994.

4. George Benton - A Philadelphias legend as both a fighter and trainer. He boxed professionally from 1949 to 1970 and defeated many future world champions. In 76 pro bouts, he was never knocked down. Benton had a professional record of 62–13–1 (37 KOs). He was the #1-ranked middleweight in the 1960s. His fighting career ended when he was shot in a bar fight. With his boxing career over, he turned to training. He studied under legend Eddie Futch and worked with Joe Frazier and Leon Spinks, among others. Later, he would be the head trainer for the huge stable of champions for the Duva family and their “Main Event” promotions, including Evander Holyfield, Oliver McCall, Mike McCallum, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, and others. Benton was famous for his cross-arm style of defense that became known as the “Philly shell”. 

3. Emanuel Steward - Famed Detroit trainer and later HBO commentator.  Known as "The Godfather of Detroit Boxing," Steward trained 41 world champions throughout his legendary career out of the famous Kronk Gym. He worked with Thomas Hearns, Vladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, James Toney, Oscar De La Hoya, Evander Holyfield, Mark Breland, Miguel Cotto, Jimmy Paul, and literally dozens of others. We lost Emanuel in 2012 at age 68. He is a member of the IBHF. 

2. Ray Arcell - Born in 1899 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Arcel trained to be a fighter in New York after his family moved to Manhattan. Arcel apprenticed in boxing under Dai Dollings and Frank ‘Doc’ Bagley, who worked with many legends, including Gene Tunney. Arcel trained his first world champion, flyweight Frankie Genaro, in 1923. The very next year, Arcel worked with his 2nd champion, Abe Goldstein, who won the bantamweight title. Arcel would then go on to train several legends, including Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross, and Tony Zale, among others. Arcel also trained Panama’s Roberto Duran. Arcel would leave Roberto Duran, however, after Duran quit against Sugar Ray Leonard in the ‘No Mas’ match. After the fight, Arcel said, “Nobody quits in my corner.”  The last fighter Arcel worked with was heavyweight legend Larry Holmes. Arcel died in 1994, at the age of 93. He took over 20 fighters to the world title and trained over two thousand boxers. Arcel was respected by everyone in the sport.

1- Cus D’Amato - You know Atlas has a soft spot for the man under whom he apprenticed during his time in D’Amato’s Catskills Boxing Club. Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1908, he is perhaps most famous for working with a then-undiscovered Mike Tyson. Cus was also a manager, promoter, along with being trainer. He stressed the importance of conquering the mental side of the game to allow fighters to overcome their ring nerves. He trained an impressive list of fighters, including Tyson, Floyd Patterson, and Jose Torres, all of whom went on to be inducted into the IBHOF. He was a proponent of the peek-a-boo style of defence, which Tyson used throughout his career. Sadly, Cus died in 1985, before he got to see his dream of Tyson winning the world heavyweight title. He was inducted into the IBHF in 1995.