?It is a very addictive sport, very hard to give up.?–Freddie Roach
Freddie Roach started his professional boxing career in 1978. He was nicknamed ?La Cucaracha? and ?The Choir Boy.? He was an excellent, exciting fighter but never quite past the best fighters of his generation, losing to former champions, Bobby Chacon, Greg Haugen, and Hector Camacho. He had a strong beginning with a record of 26-1 only to lose 12 of his last 25 fights. His professional boxing record stands at, 39-13, 15 KO?s, with 1 no decision.
His career spiraled down after breaking his hand in a decision victory over Mario Chavez in Argentina. He was ranked #7 super bantamweight in the world at the time. He underwent surgery but the hands remained brittle and mentally it was debilitating.
Born in Denham, Massachusetts, on March 5, 1960, Roach has been involved with boxing since he was introduced to the sport as a child by his father. After retiring from professional boxing in his late twenties, Freddie hooked up with his old trainer, the highly acclaimed trainer of champions, Eddie Futch. He was Eddie?s assistant for 10 years and blossomed into one of the most sought after trainers in the sport. He was voted the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2003, 2006, and 2007.
It has been noted that Roach suffers from Parkinson?s disease due to injuries sustained during his boxing career. He blames this on the last 5 fights that he fought, losing four of those fights. His trainer and friend, Eddie Futch, had strongly encouraged Freddie to stop fighting prior to those fights. He did not follow the advice. As a trainer, he severed a relationship with one of his fighters, Wayne McCullough, who continued to fight despite a cyst on his brain. His standards are high and he expects his fighters to follow him explicitly.
Roach has been the owner of the Wildcat Boxing Club in Los Angeles for 13 years and his gym, like his career as a trainer, is flourishing, reaching beyond the Parkinson?s affliction. He has stated that the training he received from Futch is one of the main reasons for his success. Eddie had told him quite a while back: ?You never want to change a guy, you want to take their strengths and refine them, and you want to take their weaknesses and make them better also. Every fighter needs to be treated as individuals, and unique individuals, as champions are, so you?ve really got to adapt to them a little bit and get inside their heads to get them to believe in you. So he?ll trust you. So he?ll listen to you between rounds.? Freddie has clearly followed the advice of his trusted mentor; his corner is quiet, confident, and positive.
DH: You just turned 48, is that right?
Yes, just passed.
DH: Happy Birthday.
Thank you very much.
DH: You are welcome. Did you do anything special?
I worked.
DH: Do you work a lot?
I work a lot, yes. I had four cakes, it was a good day?a good cake day.
DH: I suppose you get enough exercise and you?re not worried about gaining weight, are you?
You know when you get to be 48; you have to always watch it.
DH: You are a popular guy; a lot of people always surround you.
Yeah, particularly because I got to work with Oscar De La Hoya and ever since then it?s made a big difference in my popularity. It?s been 24/7 ever since. Hanging around good fighters helps a lot.
DH: You must be giving good advice or they wouldn?t be at your door.
Well, I just try to do the best I can.
DH: How important was Eddie Futch in your life?
He was my trainer for 10 years and then I worked as his assistant for 5 years, so he was my guy for sure, him and my dad. My dad taught me how to fight.
DH: Do you still have your dad?
No, he passed away a while back. My dad was a fighter and he gave me my first set of boxing gloves when I was 4, my first fight was when I was 6, and I won the Junior Olympics when I was 8. It was just part of growing up with my family.
DH: You must be an awfully good listener to be such a good teacher and trainer.
You know, somehow it just worked out well for me. The first boxer I took over was Virgil Hill, Olympic Gold Medalist and very talented guy. I had Virgil for about a year and he became my first world champion. Having been trained by Eddie Futch helped out a lot. Eddie was one of those guys that you wanted to listen to.
DH: Wasn?t Eddie with Joe Frazier for a long time?
Yes, Joe was with Eddie for quite awhile and was one of Eddie?s best champions.
DH: I heard that Joe got mad at Eddie in Manila, is that right?
When he stopped the fight?yeah. You know, most fighters will go until they die and Eddie was just trying to prevent that if he could.
DH: I think it was good advice, don?t you?
Well, the thing is, as a fighter I would say that I wouldn?t have stopped the fight, but as a trainer, Eddie understood what was best for his fighter. That way he could come back and fight another day.
DH: One of your main jobs as a trainer is to watch out for the health of the fighter, isn?t it?
Definitely, without a doubt.
DH: I read that you had wished you had listened to Eddie when he told you to retire. Could you elaborate?
Yeah, you know, we?re all a little bit hardheaded at times. You think you have one more good fight in you or whatever. It is a very addictive sport, very hard to give up.
DH: It must also be difficult to give up the applause and the fans.
You miss that more than anything. After all is said and done, that?s what most fighters miss.
DH: How long have you owned this Wildcard Boxing Club?
It has been on Vine Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood for 13 years. I work from 8 AM until 8 PM everyday unless I?m working a fight out of town. I take Sundays off; on Sundays, I usually go to the movies and hang around Hollywood a little bit. Just one day off a week.
DH: Do you have family?
No, I have too many fighters?that?s my family. I have 11 pro fighters and others that come in and that helps.
DH: How many champions do you have training there right now?
Right now, Manny Pacquiao, Dimitri Kirilov, Bernard Hopkins just lost his title, and currently we have three world champions, Gerry Penalosa is the other.
DH: Do they train there often?
Yes, they are all here right now.
DH: Do they come to you for other than boxing advice?
Well sometimes, I become like a father figure type, they ask for advice on girls, how to save money, whatever it may be. So a boxing trainer is not just like, it?s a lot more than just boxing.
DH: Who are your favorite fighters besides the guys mentioned?
Well Pacquiao is probably my favorite, but you know, actually one of my favorite guys to train in my life was Mike Tyson. Iron Mike was a great, great experience. He was a terrific guy when you get to know him and he obviously has a little of a bad side to him sometimes. He was never bad with me though; he respected me and treated me real well. And of course, Oscar De La Hoya, when I was with Oscar he was always a gentleman, a hard worker, I had great respect for him, he?s a great guy.
DH: That?s what I hear. So you feel that he?s genuinely a good guy?
He?s a good guy, very consistent, same guy every day. He doesn?t get excited and is very hard to make mad. I tried to push him and push him and thought he would quit on me because he?s well off, but he never quit, he was right there.
DH: Do you feel he?s making a good decision by continuing to fight?
Ah, I guess that?s more of a personal decision by him. I think he looked pretty good in the Forbes fight, but Steve Forbes is just a little too small for Oscar and if he fights Mayweather again, I hope he wins. I thought the first one was pretty close. I guess as long as he keeps going after the tough guys, you have to respect that. There are a lot of easy guys out there if you just want paydays. Oscar has never ducked anybody and he takes on tough opponents.
DH: No doubt. I just spoke with Bruce Silverglade from Gleason?s Gym in Brooklyn.
Yeah, he?s a famous guy with a famous gym.
DH: Yes and he has a couple of books and videos on how to train, are you going that route?
I?ve got some videos out in the Title Magazine and I get offered to do books a lot, but I don?t have the time to really sit down and dictate time to somebody every day, I work too much. The books are going to have to wait.
DH: You did say you were going 24/7.
Yes, I have a fight I?m working in Mexico City and I?m leaving on Friday. One of my Philippine boys is fighting, and then I get back and get Pacquiao ready for his big fight with David Diaz.
DH: How do you feel Manny will do against Diaz?
Diaz is a big fella, a big guy; we?re moving up to 135. He?s a big strong guy but I think Pacquiao?s speed will be too much for him. On paper, it looks like a really exciting fight. Both guys have similar styles and both guys have that will to win.
DH: Have you ever been unhappy with judges? decisions?
You win some and you lose some, it?s in the judges hands. You know we won a close fight against Marquez last time, a lot of people thought it could have been a draw, a lot of people thought Marquez won. I think the fight was very close, I think the knockdown that Pacquiao scored was the difference in the fight. I think the knockdown kind of gave us the edge, but you know people disagree but I?m sure we?ll fight him again sometime soon. It will have to be at 135 because we will be campaigning at that weight from this point on.
DH: Can Manny handle this weight comfortably?
Yes, it shouldn?t be any problem. He has been struggling to make 130 so 135 should be a lot easier.
DH: Is there anything that you?d like to add?
Just that the thing about boxing is it is a very serious sport and if you?re going to do it, work hard and give it 100%, because if you give it your all you?ll end up getting hurt. Many guys like Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather, and successful fighters like that, are successful because they work hard. If you work hard, good things will happen.
Freddie Roach Division: Lightweight Professional Record: 39-13, 15 KO?s
Date Opponent Location Result
1978-08-24 Roberto Vasquez Boston, USA W PTS 6 1978-09-16 Jose Maldonado Yarmouth, USA W KO 6 1978-12-21 Eddie Bracetty Portland, USA W PTS 6
1979-02-03 Eddie Bracetty Boston, USA W PTS 6 1979-06-06 Ney Santiago Las Vegas, USA W TKO 6 1979-06-27 John Papin Las Vegas, USA W UD 6 1979-07-25 Adolfo Hurtado Las Vegas, USA W UD 6 1979-08-02 Ricardo Hurtado Phoenix, USA W KO 1 1979-08-10 Desi Newbill San Diego, USA W PTS 6 1979-08-29 Francisco Pico Las Vegas, USA W PTS 6 1979-09-13 Beto Nunez Phoenix, USA L PTS 6 1979-10-24 Ruben Moreno Las Vegas, USA W PTS 6 1979-12-12 Luis Avila Las Vegas, USA W PTS 6
1980-01-23 Roberto Flores Las Vegas, USA W KO 1 1980-04-02 Billy Martinez Las Vegas, USA W KO 2 1980-04-16 Lionel Harney Las Vegas, USA W KO 6 1980-07-11 Manuel Martinez Phoenix, USA W KO 3 1980-08-27 Jose Resendez Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1980-10-09 Pedro Gonzalez Phoenix, USA W KO 4 1980-11-01 Jose Resendez Stateline, USA W PTS 8
1981-01-17 Joe Phillips Boston, USA W PTS 10 1981-02-12 David Capo Boston, USA W PTS 10 1981-02-23 Javier Flores Atlantic City, USA W KO 8 1981-03-26 Jose Resendez Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1981-05-28 Mario Chavez Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1981-12-26 Herman Ingram Atlantic City, USA W PTS 8
1982-04-17 Juan Veloz Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1982-06-11 Rafael Lopez Boston, USA L PTS 10 1982-07-01 Lenny Valdez Las Vegas, USA L TKO 2 1982-09-23 Martin Galvan Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1982-11-25 Danny Cruz Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1982-12-23 Danny Cruz Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10
1983-02-07 Bobby Pappion Las Vegas, USA W KO 9 1983-04-14 Louis Burke Las Vegas, USA L PTS 12 1983-06-30 Reynaldo Zaragoza Las Vegas, USA W KO 8 1983-08-25 Carlos Bryant Las Vegas, USA W PTS 10 1983-11-10 Louis Burke Las Vegas, USA L PTS 10
1984-03-21 Delio Palacios Pasadena, USA W UD 10 1984-04-12 Efrain Nieves Portland, USA NC NC 8 1984-06-12 Tommy Cordova Las Vegas, USA L SD 12 1984-08-09 Joe Ruelaz Las Vegas, USA W TKO 4 1984-10-11 Richie Foster Las Vegas, USA W TKO 8 1984-12-20 Efrain Nieves Las Vegas, USA L UD 10
1985-03-05 Bobby Chacon Sacramento, USA L MD 10 1985-04-09 Jaime Balboa Sacramento, USA W PTS 10 1985-05-23 Martin Morado Irvine, USA W TKO 8 1985-06-30 Joey Olivera Las Vegas, USA W PTS 8 1985-08-22 Greg Haugen Las Vegas, USA L TKO 7 1985-12-18 Hector Camacho Sacramento, USA L UD 10
1986-03-01 Darryl Tyson Washington, USA L UD 12 WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title 1986-04-17 Andy Nance San Rafael, USA L KO 10 1986-08-14 Arnel Arrozal Lynnwood, USA W TKO 5 1986-10-24 David Rivello Lowell, USA L MD 10
