Freddie’s war of attrition
Freddie Roach is widely known as the world’s No. 1 boxing trainer today. But some fans forget that from 1978 to 1986, he was a popular featherweight contender whose mentor was the legendary Eddie Futch.
Roach, 51, was a battler with a big heart. Maybe, that’s why in 2001, when Roach first met Manny Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, he felt an instant sense of identity.
Up to the end of his career, Roach never backed down from anyone. He lost five of his last six fights but the five who beat him had only two combined losses and three were undefeated. Among the five were former world champions Darryl Tyson, Hector (Macho) Camacho and Greg Haugen. Curiously, the last fighter whom Roach beat was a Filipino Arnel Arrozal by a fifth round stoppage in Lynnwood, Washington, in August 1986. Two months later, Roach lost a majority verdict to unbeaten David Rivello in his curtain call in Massachusetts. Roach hadn’t fought in his home state in six years and wanted to end his ring journey where it began.
At one stage in Roach’s career, his record was 27-1, with nine KOs. He was once ranked sixth in the world junior featherweight division. His biggest paycheck was $13,000 for the Camacho fight, according to Robert Mladinich in KO Magazine (Dec. 2002). Today, Roach pulls in over $1 Million for every Pacquiao fight as chief trainer.
“Freddie was a lot like Mike Quarry in that he couldn’t punch hard enough to convincingly nail down a decision, so many of his fights were down-to-the-wire decisions,” said Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler. “But he was a typical tough, hard-nosed New England guy, much like Micky Ward was. He was burning with ambition and never took a backward step. He was a staple of the early ESPN series and always pulled down good ratings.”
Although Roach registered several memorable wins, it was a loss to Tommy Cordova in 1984 that immortalized him as a fighter. In the book “Tales From the Vault” by Lee Groves, there are ringside reports of 100 fights called “closet classics.” One of the chapters is entitled “Wars of Attrition” and Groves wrote about 10 “closet classics” including the Oscar Larios-Israel Vazquez rematch and the Julio Cesar Chavez-Roger Mayweather rematch. The Roach-Cordova bout was in Groves’ chapter on “Wars of Attrition.”
Mladinich said the Roach-Cordova fight “is still considered one of the best bouts ever broadcast on the network (and) was selected as ESPN’s Fight of the Year.” Roach lost a split 12-round decision. Duane Ford a judge in Pacquiao’s win over Sugar Shane Mosley last weekend scored it 114-113 and Paul Smith 117-111, both for Cordova while Hal Miller saw it 115-113 for Roach.
Before the fight, Roach had beaten Efrain Nieves and Delio Palacios. After the fight, he beat Joe Ruelas and Richie Foster then lost to Nieves in a rematch and to former world champion Bobby Chacon whom he floored twice on a majority decision. Roach ended his pro career with a record of 40-13, including 15 KOs. He was stopped only thrice.
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Here are highlights of Groves’report:
“The 22-year-old Cordova (10-1, 6 KOs) was a 5-3 whirlwind who owned massive reserves of stamina while the 24-year-old Roach (33-5, 11 KOs) was a 5-5 battler who could box if he wished but preferred to brawl in the trenches. Tempers boiled over at the morning weigh-in when Roach weighed 3/4 of a pound over the 130-pound limit while Cordova weighed a comfortable 126 3/4. Even though Roach owned the superior reach, trainer Eddie Futch wanted Roach to stand his ground and push Cordova back because he knew the New Mexican could not fight as well on the retreat. Meanwhile, the squat Cordova and his far lankier trainer (former world lightheavyweight champion) Bob Foster had little choice strategically it was full speed ahead.
“The pair came out of their corners and immediately locked horns. Cordova landed a light left hook to the jaw while the taller, more angular Roach worked behind his jab. The bell sounded with Roach digging a right-left to the body and shoving Cordova away. Roach began the second on the outside behind light jabs that were followed by rights to the body. A big hook nailed Cordova in the midst of a wild exchange and Cordova was forced to hold on and muscle Roach to the ropes. Surprisingly, Roach was proving he was at least Cordova’s equal in physical strength as he traded evenly with the infighting specialist.
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“The alley fight continued in the third as they tore into each other like two wildcats battling over a carcass. Roach pushed Cordova toward the corner and after Cordova shoe-shined Roach’s body, he again lifted Roach’s chin with his head. As Cordova spun him, Roach looked at (referee Richard) Steele to complain and he did so with a fresh cut over his left eye, no doubt a result of Cordova’s headwork. A snarling Roach smacked in a long right at ring center and Cordova responded with a right hand as well as a head to the face. Roach hung on to regain his senses while Cordova whacked away and mushed his glove into Roach’s grill. During a later exchange, Cordova again lifted Roach’s chin with his head and an enraged Roach charged in with fists flying. Cordova nailed him with two rights that widened Roach’s cut and a hook that made him grimace but Roach fired back a right-left to the body. The anger was swelling in both men and happily for the fans, it took the form of scintillating, breath-taking action.
“Sensing he was behind on the cards, Roach commenced the final round with a last-gasp push. A solid one-two landed and a jolting hook capped off a follow-up flurry but Cordova waded in without ill effect. A whipping left hook buckled Roach’s knees yet Roach refused to yield. The round was a microcosm of the fight, both good and bad, as they mauled, brawled and punched in search of the fight-deciding, judge-impressing finish. Each man pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion until the last second ticked off.
“The verdict and the fight itself was well-received though many in the crowd were rooting for the popular Roach. It was the type of fight that elevated both fighters because they poured every ounce of themselves into the battle and sometimes more than anyone had a right to ask.”
Cordova won only two of his last 14 fights and retired with a record of 21-15-3, with nine KOs. Roach became Futch’s assistant and has now worked the corners of about 20 world champions, the most fabled of whom is Pacquiao.