NEW YORK ? Freddie Roach, the preeminent boxing trainer of this generation, admitted it was uncomfortable for him to watch a recent preview of the six-episode cinema-verit? series HBO has done on him.
“It’s a little bit embarrassing. I’m sorry that I shake, but that’s part of life,” Roach said.
He has Parkinson’s disease, an affliction that likely can be traced to an extensive boxing career in which he dished out and absorbed punishment in more than 200 amateur and professional bouts. He applied those painful lessons to to his new career and has been named the Boxing Writers Association of America’s trainer of the year an unprecedented five times.
On Freddie Roach, from renowned filmmaker Peter Berg, begins Friday (9:30 p.m. ET) with the first of six episodes that will air on subsequent Fridays at the same time on HBO. The series is not as much about the shaking and speech problems associated with Parkinson’s as Roach’s ability to overcome them.
“Basically the message is, ‘We can work through anything,’ ” the 51-year-old trainer said.
Roach seemingly was born into boxing. His father, Paul, was featherweight champion in New England and instructed him during his 150-fight amateur career. Freddie Roach was trained by Eddie Futch, who also trained Joe Frazier among others, when he turned pro in 1978. Roach spent most of his career at 122 pounds and finished with a career record of 41-13 with 17 KOs.
Roach developed into a master strategist with an uncanny ability to bring out the best in his fighters. He has worked with 28 world champions, including Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and James Toney. Roach is best known for turning Pacquiao into a superstar and was given honorary citizenship in the Philippines by the country’s appreciative Congress.
The U.S. Olympic Committee partnered with Roach to have as many as 10 Olympic hopefuls train at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., in preparation for the Summer Games in London.
Some of the most compelling footage from On Freddie Roach shows the trainer working in the ring with Khan in preparation for a bout with Zab Judah and his meticulousness in wrapping Khan’s hands before the opening bell.
The trainer’s hands do not shake.
