Freddie Roach Feature
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 24 Oct 2010
Okay, so Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao?s chief trainer has lived and breathed boxing since his early age.
He would swear, in fact, in all interviews he granted that he had his first amateur fight at age six.
Stories written and told about Roach, nicknamed ?La Cucaracha? for reason he would only smile when asked, as well as ?Choir Boy,? revolve around how he won 141 of the 150 amateur bouts he had and fashioning out a 39-13 win-loss record as a pro, 15 via stoppage.
Only a few, perhaps, had solicited from the 50-year-old Hall of Famer a confession as to what other sports he had engaged in as an athlete.
Not many knew it, but the famous boxing guru before rising into fame as a prizefighter and trainer had during his school years, was a trackster -- a miler to be exact -- where he attested he was good at.
?I?m a good miler and had some good records in school where I was raised and raced,? he told this writer in an interview during a lull in Pacquiao?s training in Baguio City,
The four-time ?Trainer of the Year? honoree, who turned 50 last March 5, also played football and baseball like most American kids during his student days.
One of seven children of former fighter Paul Roach, the 1947 New England featherweight champion, and boxing judge Barbara Roach, Freddie and four of his siblings would, by force of circumstances, turn to boxing as their way of earning a living.
?I turned out to be the best fighter in the house,? The Dedham, Massachusetts-born said rather proudly. And he has records to speak off, which proved good enough to make it into the United States Olympic boxing team trials.
Roach actually made it as alternate in the 1976 U.S, team to the Montreal Olympics, probably the best American Olympic contingent ever assembled as it also included soon-to-be professional legends Sugar Ray Leonard and the Spinks brothers ? Leon and Michael.
Pacquiao, who owns a record seven world crowns in as many weight divisions gunning for an eighth this November 14 when he fights Mexican ?The Tijuana Tornado? for he vacant World Boxing Organization super-welterweight plum, is actually only one of the 28 world champions Roach has handled in his Los Angeles Wild Card Gym.
The Roach-Pacquiao team up is in its 10th year, the longest since he established his Wild Card boxing house, located at the heart of entertainment capital Hollywood.
Asked about the secret of their long relationship, Roach?s answer was quick: ?Simple, we treat each other as brothers. I?m his big brother and him my kid sibling. Sometimes I advised him on his behavior, but not necessarily to deprive him of being a man of his own.?
?We aren?t often seen going out together, but we look after each other?s welfare. While our relationship might look like strictly business, it?s actually, like I said, give and take, Some people say I?m spoiling him, but in reality, I want him to be happy all the time,? he explained.
?Reason why I give him all he wants, including laxity in training regimen, like playing basketball and going late at night several times during training. He knows, however, that, in exchange, he must make me happy come fight time,? Roach added
As a person, Roach describes the Filipino boxing hero as a ?very loyal individual. He?s a great and a very happy guy.?
?As fighter, I can compare Manny to a machine. His work ethic, from the time he came to my gym, is unbelievable. He can spar and work the mitts 44 rounds a day. He trains like he fights; He?s a hard-worker as in a hard-worker,? he said.
Life for the respected pugilistic guru isn?t exactly a dance at the prom. It never has been.
He had his first amateur fight at age six to help tide his family up and, at eight, had his first taste of actual competition on the way to becoming the national 55-kilogram champion.
Freddie turned pro in 1978 at the age of eighteen and went into semi-retirement 10 years later. Notable names among those he fought include Hector Camacho, Greg Haugen and Bobby Chacon. He lost to all three.
At retirement, he had to do menial jobs to survive. The only job he knew was boxing and soon found himself back in the gym, this time as an assistant to renowned trainer Eddie Futch who had grown his legend in the corners of fighters such as Joe Frazier, Larry Homes and Ken Norton.
He later attributes his success as a trainer to Futch, who he described as a good teacher.
While it is his boxing background that has led him to his current success and the status which accompanies it, it is that same background which has caused him his greatest suffering. He has Parkinson?s disease that, as a result, affected his movement, slight slurred speech and general physical awkwardness. Medication has helped but he also combats the disease with exercise and a proper diet.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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