I have gone on the record and said that it is in my opinion that Manny Pacquiao is the greatest fighter that has ever lived. Some agree with me, and some do not. This is all a matter of opinion, so there is no science to it. Should the same be said for boxing trainer Freddie Roach?
If Freddie Roach isn’t the greatest trainer that has ever lived, who is? What does one need to accomplish as a boxing trainer in order to be considered the best ever?
Freddie Roach plays the game like no other. Not only is he a master at fight strategy, but he’s also a master at getting inside the head of his opponents. He’s good at hyping fights up and selling tickets and PPV buys for the fights. He knows how to get his fighter prepared both mentally and physically.
Freddie turned Manny Pacquiao from a one handed beast into a two handed killing machine. With Manny’s rise came Freddie’s rise, and together they stand, at the top of the mountain. Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach are the best one two punch on the planet.
Roach has trained some of the best fighters of all time. James Toney, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, and the list goes on and on. It seems that everything that Freddie Roach touches turns to gold.
His famous Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California has become world renowned. When you walk into the gym you never know who you will run into. Hollywood big screen stars, world champions, former world champions, you name it. Anyone can walk into the Wild Card at any given moment.
With fame has come changes though. Thankfully, Roach is basically the same good guy that he’s always been. With that said, there are those who flock around that live vicariously through him. Freddie is the one that worked hard and he deserves every penny he is worth. It’s too bad that there are a few folks around him that feel as if they are important, as if they achieved something.
I spoke with a few of my fellow Mississippians about Freddie Roach. While attending last weeks “Beatdown in Jackson” MMA card, I ran into some boxing fans. I spoke to Dean Swanson, who’s a Manny Pacquiao fan, and asked him for his thoughts on Freddie Roach.
Dean pulled no punches, “Freddie Roach is the master of masters. He was a darn good fighter in his day as well. Freddie is without a doubt the best trainer alive right now. Nobody is better!”
Freddie’s career would probably be complete with a Manny Pacquiao victory over Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny would cap off his already hall of fame career by defeating Mayweather as well. The thing is, both Manny and Freddie could retire today and both would go down as one of, if not THE two best that has ever lived.
