Freddie Roach Remembered

By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña

Growing up in the New England streets, Freddie was one of seven children and one of five boys, all boxers. So at an early age with boxing in his blood he knew becoming a fighter would be his only option in life. Freddie turned pro in 1978 at the age of eighteen, he was trained by the legendary Eddie Futch. Roach who was known for taking a lot of punishment in the ring began to show the early signs of Parkinson’s, which was a concern for Futch. With Roach refusing to change his fighting style and the Parkinson’s becoming worse, Futch asked Roach to retire, but Freddie continued to fight with his father as his trainer. Freddie went on to lose five of his last six fights and retired at age of 26.

Over the course of Freddie’s career the most he ever made for a fight was $7,500 and retired with a record of, 39-13,15 KO’s. Some big names on Roach’s resume include Hector Camacho, Greg Haugen and Bobby Chacon. Freddie lost to all three. In a recent interview with The Guardian Freddie stated “I had five fights too many. I lost four of ’em. I had the finest trainer there’s ever been, Eddie Futch, and he knew I’d had enough. But I was 26 years old and still hard-headed so I couldn’t see it. This is how it is boxing gets in your blood and you just can’t quit.”

After retiring Freddie found himself broke, drunk and on the streets. Roach took odd and end jobs as a busboy and even a telemarketer before heading back to Futch. Roach worked with Eddie as an assistant for five years before hooking up with actor Mickey Rourke. Mickey was looking at boxing as a career and paid Freddie to train him. Freddie eventually scraped together enough money to open up his now famous Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

To date Freddie has trained 36 world champions with Viktor

“The Iceman” Postol being the latest. Other past champions include Manny Pacquiao, Virgil Hill, James Toney, Oscar De La Hoya, and Mike Tyson to name a few. Freddie also trains UFC Fighters and has trained ex champions George St. Pierre and Tito Ortiz.

Watching Freddie interact with his fighters is truly amazing. Freddie has a wide range of boxing smarts and knowledge that come from his years working with Eddie Futch. I also believe that with Roach, his struggles with Parkinson’s attribute to his care for his fighters. Freddie who is known for his mitt work learned this from his first champion Virgil Hill. Hill showed Freddie a mitt style of training he had picked up from a Cuban fighter.

Freddie saw a way to adapt the mitt work for more than just punching practice. It could be a way for a trainer to devise an entire strategy in the ring, and demonstrate it to his fighters in real time. Roach began to develop this with the stable of fighters. He instructed them in maneuvers that were much more fluid and strategic. Roach’s style went on to revolutionize boxing as we know it today. With his ring technics, along with the psychology, Freddie uses to breakdown and lift up his fighters he is absolutely one of the best if not the best trainers in the sport.

With that being said Freddie does seem to train in what some say is a one sided offensive style or “Mexican Style”. In recent years some of Freddie’s biggest fighters have been exposed. Amir Khan by Danny Garcia, Julio Cesar Chavez, JR. by Sergio Martinez and Manny Pacquiao by Juan Manuel Marquez. On November 21st with this style I believe Miguel Cotto will also be exposed and fall victim to Canelo Alvarez. Freddie is a mastermind in the sport, and just he revolutionized boxing with his training style, Freddie will also need to change. With advance in 21st century technology, sports science, computer analysis and scientific data. Boxing is now more than ever living up to it’s name “The Sweet Science”.

Freddie is a man who spends his days in his gym training champions, a man living with Parkinson’s, and a man that is the son of a boxer and a boxing judge, was truly born to be fighter.

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