Frederick Steven Roach (born March 5, 1960) is an American

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

trainer and former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. Roach is widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He is the enduring boxing coach of the eight-division world champion

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...

, five-time and four-division world champion

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...

, former WBC

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

champion

Julio César Chávez Jr. Julio César Chávez Carrasco (born 16 February 1986), best known as Julio César Chávez Jr., is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former three-division world champion of bo ...

, three-time world champion

James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to ...

, former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and three-time

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

champion

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

, as well as top prospects

Jose Benavidez Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

Peter Quillin Peter Quillin (born June 22, 1983) is an American professional boxer who held the WBO middleweight title from 2012 to 2014. He also challenged once for the WBA (Regular) middleweight title in 2015. Early life Peter Quillin was born in 1983 in ...

, and

Vanes Martirosyan Vanes Martirosyan ( hy, Վանես Մարտիրոսյան; born May 1, 1986) is a former Armenian-born American professional boxer from 2005 to 2019. He has challenged twice for a light middleweight world title in 2013 and 2016, and once for ...

. Roach was the trainer of two-time women's world champion

Lucia Rijker Lucia Frederica Rijker (; born December 6, 1967) is a Dutch professional boxer, kickboxer, and actress. Rijker was sometimes dubbed by the press "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World". Early career Rijker speaks four languages and is a Bu ...

. He has also trained former

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

champion Amir Khan.

Early life and boxing career

Roach was trained by his father Paul Roach at a young age along with his brothers Joey and Pepper. In an interview with

Dan Patrick Dan Patrick may refer to: * Dan Patrick (ice hockey) (born 1938), Canadian ice hockey player * Dan Patrick (politician) (born 1950), Lieutenant Governor of Texas and political and sports radio journalist * Dan Patrick (sportscaster) (born 1956), Ame ...

on the

AUDIENCE An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

channel, Roach disclosed that throughout his youth, he was involved in over 300 street fights. Fearing for his own safety in one fight, he claims to have bitten another man's eye out in self-defense. As a teenager, he was a dominant force in the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

amateur and AAU ranks. Roach turned pro in 1978, fighting as a

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

and won his first 10 bouts. Roach trained under

Eddie Futch Eddie Futch (August 9, 1911 – October 10, 2001) was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali. Futch also trained Riddic ...

and went 26–1 before appearing in a historic match at the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (late ...

on June 11, 1982. The card that night was the first of two times that all three Fighting Roach Brothers appeared at the same time. Brothers Joey and Pepper won their undercard bouts but in the main event, Freddie lost a unanimous decision to Rafael Lopez. Freddie would rebound and go on to contend twice for regional championships. Late in his career, Roach, who was known for being able to take on a barrage of punches, began showing early signs of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. Futch asked Roach to retire but the boxer refused and continued to fight with his father as his trainer. He went on to lose five of his last six fights before retiring at age 26. His best payday was $7,500.

Professional boxing record

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 40 Wins (15 knockouts, 25 decisions), 13 Losses (3 knockouts, 10 decisions), 0 Draws , - style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Res. , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Record , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Type , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Rd., Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Location , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 40–13, , align=left, David Rivello , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 40–12, , align=left, Arnel Arrozal , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 39–12, , align=left, Andy Nance , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 39–11, , align=left,

Darryl Tyson Darryl Tyson (born October 17, 1960) is an American former professional boxer. He is a former WBC Continental Americas lightweight champion and former USBA and NABF champion in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions. Professional ...

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 39–10, , align=left,

Héctor Camacho Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho" Camacho, was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho compet ...

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 39–9, , align=left,

Greg Haugen Greg Lee Haugen (born August 31, 1960) is a retired American boxer. Haugen was champion at both the lightweight and light welterweight classes. He trained under Jim Montgomery. Haugen turned pro in 1982 and won his first 17 fights before challen ...

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 39–8, , align=left, Joey Olivera , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 38–8, , align=left, Martin Morado , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 37–8, , align=left, Jaime Balboa , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 36–8, , align=left,

Bobby Chacon Bobby Chacon (November 28, 1951 – September 7, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1988. He held titles in two weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from September 1974 to June 1975 and the WBC s ...

, , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 36–7, , align=left, Efrain Nieves , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 36–6, , align=left, Richie Foster , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 35–6, , align=left, Joe Ruelaz , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 34–6, , align=left, Tommy Cordova , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 34–5, , align=left, Efrain Nieves , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 33–5, , align=left, Delio Palacios , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 32–5, , align=left, Louis Burke , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 32–4, , align=left, Carlos Bryant , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 31–4, , align=left, Reynaldo Zaragoza , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 30–4, , align=left, Louis Burke , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 30–3, , align=left, Bobby Pappion , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 29–3, , align=left, Danny Cruz , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 28–3, , align=left, Danny Cruz , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 27–3, , align=left, Martin Galvan , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 26–3, , align=left, Lenny Valdez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 26–2, , align=left, Rafael Lopez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 26–1, , align=left, Juan Veloz , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 25–1, , align=left, Herman Ingram , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 24–1, , align=left, Mario Chavez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 23–1, , align=left, Jose Resendez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 22–1, , align=left, Javier Flores , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 21–1, , align=left, David Capo , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 20–1, , align=left, Joe Phillips , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 19–1, , align=left, Jose Resendez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 18–1, , align=left, Pedro Gonzalez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 17–1, , align=left, Jose Resendez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 16–1, , align=left, Manuel Martinez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 15–1, , align=left, Lionel Harney , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 14–1, , align=left, Billy Martinez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 13–1, , align=left, Roberto Flores , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 12–1, , align=left, Luis Avila , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 11–1, , align=left, Ruben Moreno , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Loss , align=center, 10–1, , align=left, Beto Nunez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 10–0, , align=left, Francisco Pico , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 9–0, , align=left, Desi Newbill , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 8–0, , align=left, Ricardo Hurtado , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 7–0, , align=left, Adolfo Hurtado , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 6–0, , align=left, John Papin , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 5–0, , align=left, Ney Santiago , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 4–0, , align=left, Eddie Bracetty , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 3–0, , align=left, Eddie Bracetty , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 2–0, , align=left, Jose Maldonado , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center , Win , align=center, 1–0, , align=left, Roberto Vasquez , , , , align=left, , align=left, , - align=center

Boxing trainer

Roach has trained 27 world champions to date. After his retirement from fighting, Roach worked in a variety of jobs around Las Vegas including

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent f ...

and a

busboy In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...

before taking a job with his former trainer and mentor

as an unpaid assistant in 1986. He excelled in his new position and worked as Futch's assistant for five years. In 1991, actor

Mickey Rourke Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...

returned to boxing midway through his acting career, and hired Roach to train him in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. In 1995, when Rourke decided to quit boxing, he gave gym equipment to Roach, and it can be found in the Wild Card Boxing Club on Vine Street. Roach owns the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles and works alongside his brother Pepper. He is one of the most popular trainers in boxing. Roach's prized ward is eight-division world champion

. Roach also once trained

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...

for his May 5, 2007 superfight against

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...

His first world champion was

Virgil Hill Virgil Eugene Hill (born January 18, 1964) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2007, and in 2015. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA light heavyweight title twice, from 1987 to 1997; the IBF a ...

, whom he took over from his own former trainer,

. He is also the former trainer for British boxers

Gary Stretch Gary Stretch (born 4 November 1965) is a British actor, model, and former boxing champion. During his boxing career, Stretch won 29 of his 31 fights, 20 of those by KO. He became the WBC International Super Welterweight Champion. In his modelli ...

(former WBC light middleweight champion), training Stretch for his WBO middleweight title challenge against

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the thir ...

, and Amir Khan, who became the

WBA light welterweight champion This is a list of WBA world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Association (WBA). The list also includes champions certified by the National Boxing Association (NBA), the predecessor to the WBA. Boxers who won t ...

on July 18, 2009, and the

IBF light welterweight champion This is a chronological List of World Super Lightweight/Light Welterweight/Junior Welterweight Boxing Champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the Nati ...

on July 23, 2011, under Roach's tutelage. Roach also trains

boxer Zachary "Kid Yamaka" Wohlman among many others. and can usually be seen nearby when his boxers are interviewed. In the world of

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA), Roach has trained former

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

champion

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

and was one of his primary trainers for Arlovski's victory over

Ben Rothwell Ben Rothwell (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Heavyweight. He most notably had a 17 bout stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competed for the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL where he h ...

on July 19 at

Affliction Affliction or Afflicted may refer to: Books * ''Affliction'' (novel), a 2013 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton * ''Affliction'', a novel by Russell Banks, basis of the 1998 film Film and TV * ''Affliction'' (1997 film), ...

's inaugural show. He has also trained MMA fighter

Dan Hardy Daniel Mark Hardyhttp://boxing.nv.gov/2012%20Results%20Web/05-26-12%20MMA.pdf (born 17 May 1982) is an English former mixed martial artist who fought in the welterweight division. During his professional MMA career, which began in 2004, Hardy ...

for his fight with

Marcus Davis Marcus Paul Davis (born August 24, 1973), is an American professional mixed martial artist and former professional boxer who is perhaps best known for competing in the UFC. A professional MMA competitor from 2003 until 2014, Davis also competed ...

at UFC 99 as well as MMA greats,

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UF ...

Anderson Silva Anderson da Silva (; born 14 April 1975) is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and boxer. He is a former UFC Middleweight Champion and holds the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. This started in 2006 and ...

, and

BJ Penn Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was th ...

. In May 2010, he began a training engagement with

in advance preparation for the fighter's successful

title defense against

Josh Koscheck Edinboro Fighting Scots Josh D. Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the realit ...

UFC 124 ''UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 11, 2010 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The event was the fourth that the UFC has hosted at the ...

. Roach has also trained many other prominent mixed martial artists, such as: pro-boxer and kickboxer, and former EliteXC lightweight champion,

K. J. Noons Karl James "K.J." Noons (born December 7, 1982) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist, as well as a former professional boxer and kickboxer. Noons competed for UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM and EliteXC. He is the former EliteXC ...

Roger Huerta Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the lightweight division. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator Fighting Cha ...

, and

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua (; born April 18, 1984), mostly billed simply as Sokoudjou, is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Sokoudjou is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, and h ...

. In March 2010, Roach expressed interest in wanting to train former

Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

and WAMMA heavyweight champion,

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

Parkinson's disease

Roach suffers from

. As chronicled in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' is a monthly sports news magazine on HBO. Since its debut on April 2, 1995, the program has been presented by television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel. Overview Format Each episode consists of fou ...

'', he is able to actively control the disease through medication, injections, and his training of boxers. Roach's doctors feel that his active in-ring training routines with his fighters and tremendous eye-hand coordination that he has to exhibit have made it possible to slow the progress of the disease.

Honors

* Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame, "Expanded Category" (Managers & Trainers). * 2006 California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee (Non-Boxer) * 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 & 2014 Boxing Writers Association of America Trainer of the Year * 2008 World Boxing Council (WBC) "Lifetime Achievement Award" * 2012

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

Canastota, New York Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2010 census. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the Town of Lenox. Canastota High School is loca ...

, United States Non-participant Inductee (Trainer of World Champions) * 2013

Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame (abbreviated NVBHOF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in June 2012 by American sports broadcaster Rich Marotta. The company honors boxers and those in the industry who have significantly contributed to ...

Inaugural Inductee ("Trainers" Category) * 2021 USA Boxing Hall of Fame - Fighter, Trainer, Manager

Notable boxers trained

Key

Other people

''As of August 1, 2011:''

Notable mixed martial artists trained

Key

References

External links

Wild Card Boxing Club, Hollywood, CA – Freddie Roach

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Freddie Boxers from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Dedham, Massachusetts People with Parkinson's disease Lightweight boxers Super-featherweight boxers 1960 births Living people American boxing trainers American male boxers