A world-renowned boxing trainer, Freddie Roach has been in the corner of fighters like Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya.
Roach has coached 29 world champions, so why would he invest time in Trey Lippe Morrison?
?I?m absolutely flabbergasted that he took me on. I haven?t been in the game very long,? said the 25-year-old Lippe Morrison, who has less than two years of boxing training, no amateur experience, only eight professional fights and fewer than 13 minutes of actual competition time.
?I think Trey is very marketable,? Roach explained by telephone from Los Angeles. ?I think we need an American heavyweight who can fight.?
The son of former heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison, Lippe Morrison was an outstanding football player at Vinita High School and a defensive end at the University of Central Arkansas. In 2013, he decided to try the fight game.
Lippe Morrison was trained first by Tulsa-based Peppe Johnson, then by Bartlesville-based Randy Rouse and then by Los Angeles-based Jesse Reid. Two months ago, Lippe Morrison joined the Roach stable of fighters. Conditioning and sparring sessions occur at Roach?s Wild Card Boxing Club, six blocks south of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
?Trey does have punching power, which I think he was born with,? Roach said. ?I was friends with Trey?s dad. When Tony Holden called and told me about Trey, I got really interested. This is what I do ? I take fighters and try to improve them. Trey is improving every day. I?m happy.?
On May 2, Roach was with Pacquiao for the biggest bout in years ? the Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather showdown, won by Mayweather in a unanimous decision. On Saturday, Roach will be in Joplin, Missouri, as Lippe Morrison fights in the main event of a Four State Franchise card.
Lippe Morrison (8-0) is matched against 31-year-old Cory Phelps of Catlettsburg, Kentucky. The fight is scheduled for six rounds.
A winner by quick knockout in each of his eight bouts, Lippe Morrison has fought for a total of only nine rounds. Phelps is a veteran of 68 rounds.
?With his experience, this is an interesting fight for me,? said the 6-foot-2 Lippe Morrison, who weighed 239 pounds for his most recent bout.
?Freddie Roach sees my flaws and notices what I?m good at. He makes me learn in steps. When I mess up, he makes me stop and do it again. Even if it?s a simple two-punch combination, he makes me do it over and over until I get it right. I love what I?ve done with him so far.?
The Saturday show is a production of Tulsa promoter Holden, whose Four State Franchise roster includes Lippe Morrison and his half-brother, heavyweight Kenzie Morrison of Bartlesville. At the 3,000-seat Joplin Memorial Hall, Kenzie Morrison (5-0) is matched with Chris Harris of Wichita, Kansas. Another Four State fighter, undefeated super welterweight Dillon Cook of Seneca, Missouri, clashes with Noel Esqueda of Wichita.
?If I look ahead a year from today, I would hope that Trey is fighting on TV and getting great exposure,? Roach said. ?Everyone I took to a world title ? it took four years.?
Holden was Tommy Morrison?s promoter and manager, and Holden?s friendship with Roach dates to the mid-1990s.
?I didn?t think there was any way that Freddie would take a fighter like Trey ? only eight fights as a pro,? Holden said. ?I was at dinner with Freddie in (California), and he said, ?I want to look at Trey.? He watched Trey in the gym and loved what he saw.
?Freddie says Trey has tremendous natural power in both hands, and Freddie believes there?s something to work with. I trust Freddie. That?s the big thing. Trey is entering a different world. I want someone watching his back. I trust Freddie to do that.
?Trey is just a big country kid, but he is happy in Los Angeles now and loves working with Freddie.?
