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<\/a>By Daniel Sisneros<\/strong><\/p>\nFreddie Roach turned pro on August 24, 1978 with a unanimous decision victory over Roberto Vasquez in Boston, MA. He quickly ran off 10 straight wins before taking his first defeat to Beto Nunez (19-3) in Nunez’s home town of Phoenix by decision.<\/p>\n
Roach battled on and ran off another winning streak. This time he went nearly 3 years before losing again. But when he did, he lost back-to-back matches against two highly regarded contenders. He was a relentless punching machine, he was technically skilled, but could still be hit enough to make for some crowd pleasing brawls. He was very “TV Friendly” and became a favorite with Las Vegas boxing promoters and the fairly new ESPN cable network.<\/p>\n
Freddie was 30-3 when he fought for his first title belt. It was April 14, 1983 when he took on unbeaten Louie Burke (13-0) for the ESPN Jr. Lightweight Championship. It was an all-time classic battle with the two slugging it out for the full 12 rounds. When the dust settled, and the smoke cleared it was Burke who took a close but unanimous decision and left Las Vegas Nevada with the ESPN strap.<\/p>\n
Dan Sisneros with Freddie Roach in 1999
\nRoach bounced back with 2 huge wins. First he stopped Reynaldo Zaragoza (22-3-1) in 8 rounds, and then scored a unanimous 10 round win over Carlos Bryant (12-8-2, 6 ko) in what turned out to be Bryant’s last pro bout.<\/p>\n
Roach wanted another shot at Louie Burke, and he got it – Nov. 10, 1983 on the undercard of Marvin Hagler\/Roberto Duran. This time it was a 10 round non-title bout, but it was the same result. An all out brawl with Burke again taking the victory on all 3 judges scorecards.<\/p>\n
Those wars with Burke only made boxing fans want to see Freddie Roach even more. Freddie finished his career from that point going 8-8, but faced the very best in the game including: Tommy Cordova (for the vacant ESPN Jr. Lightweight Title belt), Bobby Chacon, Jaime “Rocky” Balboa, Greg Haugen, and Hector Camacho. During that stretch he got a shot at the WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title in 1986, losing a decision to champion Darryl Tyson (23-1, 12 ko’s).<\/p>\n
Freddie’s last win came on Aug. 14, 1986 when he forced 50 fight veteran Arnel Arrozal to not come out for round 6.<\/p>\n
Freddie’s last pro bout was fought just two months later. He dropped a very tough battle with unbeaten David Rivello (9-0, 4 ko) by decision.<\/p>\n
Freddie Roach was a fighter’s fighter, and that’s probably why he has become one of boxing’s most celebrated trainers guiding the careers of boxing’s best including: Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Lucia Rijker, Amir Khan, and many others.<\/p>\n
Freddie did not have the big knockout punch, but his heart and tenacity made him a top 20 contender for most of his exciting career, and a definite fan favorite too.<\/p>\n
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