Roach zeroes in on 6th BWAA award

MANILA, Philippines - Freddie Roach is closing in on his sixth Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Trainer of the Year award and if he sweeps his four world title assignments in the next nine weeks, the trophy will be in the bag for sure.

Roach’s four championship bouts will be telecast on HBO starting with Jorge Linares up against Antonio DeMarco for the vacant WBC lightweight crown in Los Angeles tomorrow night (Sunday morning, Manila). Then, Manny Pacquiao stakes his WBO welterweight diadem against Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on Nov. 12. A week later, WBC middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. battles challenger Peter Manfredo, Jr. in Houston and on Dec. 10, WBA “super” and IBF lightwelterweight ruler Amir Khan takes on Lamont Peterson in Washington, D. C.

Another world champion under Roach’s care is WBA welterweight king Vlacheslav Senchenko of Ukraine.

Roach brought Linares to Baguio City to spar with Pacquiao and said the Venezuelan is ready to annex his third world title after reigning as WBC featherweight and superfeatherweight champion. Roach will make his debut in Linares’ corner for the DeMarco fight. “DeMarco’s a tough guy,” said Roach. “Linares will win an easy decision or score a late knockout. He’s basically a counterpuncher like Marquez but I want him to be a little more aggressive. In Manny’s first few years in the US, Linares used to come over to the gym and spar with him. It was pretty even between the two then. Of course, now, Manny is so much stronger, faster. We took Linares to Baguio because he fights somewhat like Marquez. I think Linares got a lot better sparring with Manny.”

As for Pacquiao’s title defense, Roach said Marquez won’t go beyond six rounds. He also predicted wins by Chavez and Khan. “They spoil Chavez in Mexico but when he reports to our gym, he’s very disciplined,” said Roach. “He trains just like Manny and takes it really seriously. He’s not a playboy either. Amir will be the next star in my stable. Peterson is a hard hitter but he won’t be able to catch Amir.”

Roach won the BWAA Trainer of the Year Award in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The citation is particularly special for Roach because it is named after the late Eddie Futch, his mentor. 

A celebrity in his own right, Roach signed a three-year contract to endorse Nike apparel and footwear early this year. The contract was negotiated by Roach’s lawyer Nick Khan. A rival company was close to signing Roach but he decided to stick with the brand that Pacquiao wears. 

Roach will soon be featured in a six-episode reality series on TV produced by Peter Berg of “Friday Night Lights” and “The Great White Hype” fame. The documentary crew has taken footage of Roach at work in various locations, including Ukraine and the Philippines for the show entitled “On Freddie Roach.” His much-awaited book will be released on March 1 and orders are now being taken by amazon.com at a discounted price of $14.85 from a face value of $24.95. The 320-page book was written by Peter Owen Nelson with a foreword by Pacquiao. It was initially entitled “The Wild Card – Hard-Fought Lessons From a Life in the Ring.” The book was recently retitled “It May End Up Killing You – Hard-Fought Lessons From a Life in the Ring.”

Roach was involved in training the nine-man US team that recently saw action at the AIBA World Championships in Baku. He worked with the fighters two weeks in Los Angeles and a month at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The US head coach is Joe Zanders with Ronald Simms, Manny Robles and Ken Porter in his staff. In Baku, the US fighters who qualified for the London Olympics were flyweight Raushee Warren, bantamweight Joseph Diaz and welterweight Errol Spence. None went to the finals. 

“I plan to be in London for the Olympics with the guys,” said Roach. “I rejoin the team training for London in January. It’s a new challenge for me working with fighters who aren’t pros. I’m enjoying it. I work with the men and women. I offered a $1,000 ringside ticket for Manny’s fight against Marquez to every American coming home with the gold medal from Baku. Although no one won the gold, it’s no savings for me. I spend about $50,000 worth of tickets for each of Manny’s fights to give to family and friends. So the tickets I would’ve given to our American fighters are already paid for.”