Courtesy photo
HOLLYWOOD — The strip mall where the Wild Card Boxing Club is located has been designated as Freddie Roach Square in connection with the 30th anniversary of its founding by the acclaimed trainer.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez joined Roach in speaking at the May 18 ceremony at 1123 Vine St., near Santa Monica Boulevard.
“As I sat there on the podium, I was like, ‘Are they all talking about me?’” Roach joked, according to the website BoxingScene.com. “Even at the beginning, when I was getting in that car, I thought, ‘Am I really getting in that?’
“And then it dropped me off at the front of the gym, and the crowd just kept growing bigger and bigger. It made me really happy. It made me think of all the champions I’ve trained and the contenders I’ve trained. I guess it shows what I can do when I work at it. I mean, to have that many people say such things about you, I must be doing something right.
“I feel as good right now as I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Roach was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2012. He has trained 36 fighters to world titles and worked with more than 50 world champions including Manny Pacquiao, Oscar de La Hoya, Mike Tyson and James Toney, according to the club’s website.
Roach has also trained such mixed martial arts champions as Tito Ortiz, Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn.
The club describes its “heart and soul” the “group of non-professional boxers who show up every day, put in the work and the sweat it takes to get better.”
Roach is a five-time recipient of the Boxing Writers Association of America Eddie Futch Award as the trainer of the year.
Roach was trained by Futch for most of his professional boxing career and later was Futch’s assistant.
Roach was born on March 5, 1960, in Dedham, Massachusetts. His father Paul was a boxer and trainer and his brothers Joey and Pepper were also professional boxers.
