When it comes to boxing, the spotlight is always on the boxers. They are, after all, the ones who get beaten for a living. But there’s another person who’s also made the same sacrifices, possesses the same amount (if not more) of dedication and commitment to achieving their ultimate goal: the trainer.
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, the boxing pride of the Philippines, has proven to fans and critics, in the boxing ring, why he is a boxing champion. A lot of people know about him and his family through media. But few people really know the man behind the champion, his trainer, Freddie Roach. This January, HBO has turned the spotlight on him.
HBO: On Freddie Roach follows the life of Freddie Roach, who owns and operates Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, CA, and has produced world boxing champions, including the eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. A former champion boxer, Roach was forced to quit when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and lost five of his last six fights. He retired from professional boxing at 26.
He apprenticed with his former trainer and mentor, Eddie Futch. The first boxer Roach himself trained was Hollywood actor, Mickey Rourke, in 1991. Rourke gave him the gym equipment that Roach would eventually use in Wildcard. Since 1991, Roach has trained Oscar de la Hoya, Virgil Hill and British boxer and former WBA light welterweight World Champion Amir Khan.
On Freddie Roach shows the man behind the success of world boxing and mixed martial arts champions — how he transforms them from boxers to champions, while dealing with Parkinson’s Disease.
On Freddie Roach premiered on HBO on Friday, January 20, at 9:30pm ET/PT.
(U.S. Army photo)
