# Steven "freddie roach"



## Transk53 (May 4, 2015)

Had one of those moments when Facebook actually throws you a tasty bone. Anyway while reading through Wiki, I realised that I had heard the name before. I am going to do my research, but just wondering, any of you out there that have been to his gym. No agenda here, just really curious if any of you were in his vicinity. Maybe training or perhaps someone here may have fought him at amateur level.


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## elder999 (May 4, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Had one of those moments when Facebook actually throws you a tasty bone. Anyway while reading through Wiki, I realised that I had heard the name before. I am going to do my research, but just wondering, any of you out there that have been to his gym. No agenda here, just really curious if any of you were in his vicinity. Maybe training or perhaps someone here may have fought him at amateur level.


 
Knew him back east, but we didn't fight in the same weight class. I visit the Wild Card gym pretty regularly when I'm in LA-they don't have a lot of equipment, and, like a lot of boxing gyms, it's kind of an armpit, but you can get a good training session on the cheap.......though not with Freddie. A day pass is $10.....there's a kind of a dive Thai restaurant in the same complex that has really good food,  Nat's Thai Food: when he's training, Manny Pacquiao eats there almost every night.....

EDIT: Oh, and everybody in both places is really, really nice!


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## Transk53 (May 4, 2015)

elder999 said:


> Knew him back east, but we didn't fight in the same weight class. I visit the Wild Card gym pretty regularly when I'm in LA-they don't have a lot of equipment, and, like a lot of boxing gyms, it's kind of an armpit, but you can get a good training session on the cheap.......though not with Freddie. A day pass is $10.....there's a kind of a dive Thai restaurant in the same complex that has really good food,  Nat's Thai Food: when he's training, Manny Pacquiao eats there almost every night.....
> 
> EDIT: Oh, and everybody in both places is really, really nice!




Retiring at 26! Man that has got to be a kicker. Ten dollars seems pretty cheap to me. Perhaps maybe to invite peeps that just want to train. What weight did you fight at?


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## elder999 (May 4, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Retiring at 26! Man that has got to be a kicker. Ten dollars seems pretty cheap to me. Perhaps maybe to invite peeps that just want to train. What weight did you fight at?


 
 His pro career was not that great, and he probably has Parkinson's from his last 10 or so fights...he should have retired earlier....

I fought at super-welterweight (154)  as an AAU amateur from 1976-1980.....


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## Transk53 (May 4, 2015)

elder999 said:


> His pro career was not that great, and he probably has Parkinson's from his last 10 or so fights...he should have retired earlier....
> 
> I fought at super-welterweight (154)  as an AAU amateur from 1976-1980.....



So at pro level light heavyweight. So by choice, or circumstance? Just curious!


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## elder999 (May 4, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> So at pro level light heavyweight. So by choice, or circumstance? Just curious!


154 pounds is super welterweight at pro level as well...in fact, it's just plain "welterweight"...a little of both, really: back then I was probably walking around between 165-175 lbs, max......it was really easy for me to drop 20 pounds, too...my reach worked better for me with those guys, and I probably didn't have the power of amateur light-heavies or middleweights until I was over 20.....they'd have killed me.

Hell, as it is, some welterweights came close to killing me!


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## Buka (May 4, 2015)

I had the locker next to Freddie's at the South Side gym in Roslindale MA back in the early seventies. He was twelve or thirteen. He and his two brothers trained there along with his dad. Despite that, I don't really know anything about him - other than what I see on tv and read online. He was a nice kid, though.


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## Transk53 (May 4, 2015)

Power is power, not confined to class.


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## elder999 (May 4, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Power is power, not confined to class.


 

No, but if we consider power as work applied within time, and use *mass* rather than 'class," (see what I did there) then there's a definite relationship between power and mass-that's why we have "class" (es)-welterweights don't fight heavyweights, after all......


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## Danny T (May 4, 2015)

Freddie's career wasn't great but was not bad. 53 pro fights 40 wins / 15 by ko. Won his first title fight (featherweight 126 lbs) in 1981 by UD. Fought for the Super Featherweight (130 lbs) in 1983; loss by UD and again in 84 loss by SD. His last title fight was in 86 for Lightweight (136) and again loss UD. 
He was good enough to fight in 4 title fights in 3 different divisions.
He got into coaching by being an assistant to the great Eddie Futch (who he train under). 
Mickey Rourke hired him as his coach when he started boxing again and when he quit gave the gym and equipment to Roach.


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## Transk53 (May 5, 2015)

elder999 said:


> No, but if we consider power as work applied within time, and use *mass* rather than 'class," (see what I did there) then there's a definite relationship between power and mass-that's why we have "class" (es)-welterweights don't fight heavyweights, after all......



Right, get it I think. So if a welterweight put the pounds to make a heavyweight bout, would that be effective mass coupled with power? IE, not just a bit of extra weight to make the bout if you see what I mean.


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## Transk53 (May 5, 2015)

Danny T said:


> Freddie's career wasn't great but was not bad. 53 pro fights 40 wins / 15 by ko. Won his first title fight (featherweight 126 lbs) in 1981 by UD. Fought for the Super Featherweight (130 lbs) in 1983; loss by UD and again in 84 loss by SD. His last title fight was in 86 for Lightweight (136) and again loss UD.
> He was good enough to fight in 4 title fights in 3 different divisions.
> He got into coaching by being an assistant to the great Eddie Futch (who he train under).
> Mickey Rourke hired him as his coach when he started boxing again and when he quit gave the gym and equipment to Roach.



Yeah so I see. Has been interesting reading so far. I have likened it to the football game over here. Some players who had great and successful careers, moved into club management, but did not do so well. Where as some of the lower league, and divisions there in, players have made great managers. In essence they are journey men, but good enough to earn a decent crust, even if most would never grace Wembley in the FA Cup sort of thing.


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## IcemanSK (Jul 11, 2015)

I've been to Wildcard (about 13 years ago) & it wasn't anything special then, either. But that didn't stop MANY world class fighters from being there training with anyone else. Freddie learned from Eddie Futch really well. Even before Manny was MANNY Wildcard was an amazing place to train.


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## Transk53 (Jul 12, 2015)

Atmosphere over something looking pretty I have always believed.


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