Freddie Roach is having fun training boxers and doesn?t plan on retiring any time soon.
The Hall of Fame trainer has a host of boxers in his camp, including Avenal native Jose Ramirez, who returns to the ring Saturday at Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore.
Ramirez (17-0, 12 knockouts) will face Tomas Mendez (22-7, 14 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout for the World Boxing Council Continental Americas title. The fight will be shown tape-delayed at 11 p.m. as part of the ?Solo Boxeo? series on UniMas (Comcast channel 12).
Before Ramirez, Roach coached many boxers ? even world champions.
When Roach, 56, became a trainer at age 27, he helped mold Virgil Hill into a world champion. The list of notable champions ballooned after Hill and include Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Peter Quillin, Amir Khan and Mike Tyson. In all, 38 former world champions, Roach said.
