People live with the cards fate dealt them. Some may have the odds in their favor, while others live with the deck stacked against them. For Shane Langford, boxing was supposed to be his ticket to boxing grandeur, but glory inside the ring will never be. Despite his impressive amateur career in his native Canada, the now 32-year-old former 1999 Canadian National Amateur Boxing Tournament bronze medalist was, according to him, mishandled by the people who were supposed to look out for him.
When he turned professional in 2000 as a super bantamweight, Langford’s first two bouts were against a very seasoned veteran in Steve Molitor, who had 30 victories in 31 bouts at the time. Needless to say, Langford’s lack of experience in professional prizefighting, plus the fact that his first opponent was a highly-skilled boxer, delivered Langford his first two losses. He would taste his only victory in his third fight, opposite a fellow Canadian boxer by the name of Sheldon Wile, who was then 2-0. All subsequent fights for Langford ended in a loss, except for one which resulted in a draw. After his fifth professional bout, Langford, a homeless boxer by then, living off the streets of Los Angeles, met Pepper Roach, brother of Freddie Roach. He was taken under the care of the famed boxing trainers. “They got places for you to sleep if you’re not in good condition for the streets; shelters and stuff, the Glendale armory, they’ll let u sleep there. For showers, I went to the Wildcard boxing gym. They let me in for free because Freddie told them to,” Langford recalled of the time.
Pepper and Freddie tried to reignite Langford’s career, but despite it all, Langford’s dreams of becoming a world champion seemed to never be in his destiny. The final blow to his career came from Jorge Espinoza when Langford faced him on April 1, 2005. Langford suffered his final loss via a tremendous beating at the expense of his left eye, which closed forever due to the punishment he took. Langford’s professional boxing career would end with a record of 1-7-1. The cards dealt to Langford are cruel to say the least. Losing a career and an eye is a double whammy indeed.
But fate may have other things planned for the former brawler from Canada. After recovering from his last bout, Freddie Roach offered him a job as custodian of the world-renowned Wild Card Boxing Club. Under Roach’s tutelage, Langford soaked up the knowledge of the Sweet Science that the boxing guru has taught him. “Freddie taught me all I know about training, but he didn’t just give it to me. He made me watch and observe. I took notes. The other coaches did not like it and I often got into fights with them,” he recalls. Eventually, Roach allowed him to train his own fighters, having Langford assist him when working with top-class boxers.
Now, prominence and newfound popularity has come to Langford, who was featured in the award-winning series Pacquiao-Hatton 24/7. He now has his own drove of fans and a short list of clients, mostly amateur boxers. “The clients realize that I’m teaching Freddie’s methods since the show aired and that I’m a good guy, but all the fights I’ve been in gave me a bad name. I guess fighting will always be a part of me, but after the show, people seem to understand better,” Langford commented.
For more about Shane Langford, check out my full interview:
Q&A WITH SHANE LANGFORD
