TalkingBoxing Interviews
Talking Boxing with FREDDIE ROACH
MON July 11, JERRY CASAREZ - TalkingBoxing’s own Jerry Casarez recently had a chance to speak with the great Freddie Roach of the Wild Card Gym in California. This is a can’t miss interview as one of boxing's best trainers speaks on topics from Manny Pacquiao's future to when James Toney’s next fight will take place.
» Casarez: Roach Speaks on Kingsley Ikeke, Mike Tyson, Wayne McCullough, Israel Vazquez and MUCH more
Jerry Casarez: Freddie how are you ?
Freddie Roach: I’m good.
Jerry Casarez: Whats going on with Manny Pacquiao?
Freddie Roach: Pacquiao...We just finished a lawsuit against Murad Muhammad and we’re outta the contract with him. He‘ll be fighting on Sept 10th on HBO.
Jerry Casarez: Awesome. Must feel good to finally be out of that deal with Murad?
Freddie Roach: Yeah. We did well in court and Murad....just didn’t treat the kid fairly and it’s good to be outta that contract.
Jerry Casarez: Good to hear. Now Manny can move forward with his career now. Did you feel that since you were one of the people saying that something wasn’t right that this was a case of Murad and his manager Rod Nazario not coming clean with what was really going on with Manny’s deals?
Freddie Roach: You know it’s funny that they never gave one proof of discloser to the kid so he really never knew what he was making. They paid him a very small sum every time he fought and they split the remainder of the money between the two. But now Shelly Finkel’s the manager and Shelly’s gonna negotiate the deals and they’ll do a real good job of that and Manny will do the fight.
Jerry Casarez: That’s awesome. The fans definitely want to see Manny back in the ring. Who would you like to see as potential opponents for Manny down the line?
Freddie Roach: You know we’re looking at a couple of guys right now, but nothing definite. But you know it would more of a kind of a tune up fight I would say. Um I hate to use that word of course cause you can’t take anyone lightly you know but he’s been fighting all of these killers right in a row and I’d like to see him fight a tune up and then we’re talking about maybe the rematch with Morales in December on pay T.V. That’s the fight he wants so...That’s what we’re looking forward to. Of course we’d like to get Barrera back in the ring one more time also cause he’s making a little noise of excuses of why he lost. We’d like to fight him again also to prove to the world that Manny’s the best 130 pounder out there.
Jerry Casarez: Is that a weight Manny wants to stay at or is there a chance of Manny coming down to 126lbs?
Freddie Roach: You know we discussed this last weekend and we all agree that Manny’s best fighting weight is 126. But the money’s at 130 and he wants Morales back so to do that we have to stay at 130 and that’s what we’re gonna do.
Jerry Casarez: So down the line is there still a possibility of a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez?
Freddie Roach: Of course. That’s always an option for us and we can go back to 126 or he can come uo either way. It was a very exciting fight and Marquez is a very good fighter and we respect him alot. I think style wise he probably provoked us more difficulties than Barrera or Morales. He’s a crafty guy and all three of those guys are very dangerous and entertaining also.
Jerry Casarez: What can you tell us about Mr. James “Lights Out” Toney?
Freddie Roach: Well I thought we were getting close to the Klitschko fight but the negotiations stopped on that. I’d like to see James get in there right away cause he’s not getting any younger. I haven’t seen him since the Ruiz fight so I really don’t have any reports yet. I hear rumor about the Klitschko fight happening and not happening. I don’t know exactly where he stands right now. I know he can’t fight for the WBA title for a while but he can fight for any of the other titles. You know they’re talking about him and Chris Byrd. To me that would be a boring fight style wise, but I’d love for James to try to get Klitschko, but I’m not sure thats gonna happen yet.
Jerry Casarez: Has James been out of the Gym since the Ruiz fight?
Freddie Roach: Yeah he still works Cardio a lil bit every other day. Doing some roadwork and Tae Bo but he hasn’t boxed since the Ruiz fight no.
Jerry Casarez: What can you tell us about what’s going on with Israel Vasquez and how disapointed were you with what we hear that the Tapia fight is off?
Freddie Roach: Yeah you know we were real excited about going in there against Tapia. You know Johnny’s a great name and going to his hometown. He fights well there and he has lots of fans on his side but I think it was a great fight for us. I’m very dissapointed that the fight didn’t happen for Israel. That was gonna be a great fight for boxing. Tapia is not what he was I don‘t think but he still bring it though. He’s a game guy and he’ll give it all for sure especially in his hometown. Unfortunetly he didn’t come to terms with Teresa from what I heard but thats just rumor. I don’t really know why the fight was cancelled.
Jerry Casarez: Are they looking at keeping Israel in the mix with a fall fight or anything going on?
Freddie Roach: We’d like to get a fight very soon. He was training for that fight and we weren’t far away from it. He’s in great shape and of course we’d like to keep him busy as possible. You know there’s only so many T.V dates out there so I’m not sure what’s gonna happen right now.
Jerry Casarez: How’s Israel been taking everything?
Freddie Roach: He’s a quite kid. He doesn’t complain, but I think he’s a little disappointed, but he knows that’s part of the game. Hopefully something will come around quickly and we won’t get caught off guard and we’ll be in shape.
Jerry Casarez: That’s good to hear. What can you tell us about another of your fighters Brian Viloria and how’s his training going for his first title shot?
Freddie Roach: He’s doing well. You know alot of people were concerned because his last opponent slipped into a coma and so forth, but he’s handled it pretty good it seems like. He’s training really hard for the fight and it’s gonna be the toughest fight of his life and he knows that. This is what he’s been waiting for and you know when he didn’t win the gold medal at the olympics, he wanted that world championship. This is a very big fight for him and he’s right on schedule.
Jerry Casarez: That’s a fight that lots of boxing fans are looking forward to which is the night of July 30th. On the Million Dollar Lady undercard.
Freddie Roach: Yeah it’s on that. I hear Arce’s on that card. So it sounds like a good undercard and you know the girls will put on a great fight.
Jerry Casarez: Speaking of how’s training going for Lucia?
Freddie Roach: She’s got a couple of injuries and so forth. Couple of mishaps before the fight, but she’s back in the swing now and she’ll be ready on the 30th also. I do believe she’s the better fighter and all she has to do is focus a little bit more and get her timing down a little bit more and she’ll be ready then. We’ve got a little bit more than 3 weeks and she’s right on schedule also.
Jerry Casarez: Has she been doing any sparring and if so who has she been sparring with?
Freddie Roach: Yeah she’s been doing a little bit of sparring with her friend Joey, but tomorrow I’m going to have her start sparring with Juan Carlos Martinez. He’s one of those guys that keep coming forward and puts pressure on you and I mean that’s what Christy Martin is going to do with Lucia. I think that’s going to help her alot and he’s the perfect sparring partner. Basically he’s the same style as Christy Martin and he punches like she does. Lucia is a great boxer and I think she’s too good a boxer to get beat by this girl but we’ll see. Upsets make the world go round.
Jerry Casarez: How happy is she about finally getting the exposure and the recognition she deserves?
Freddie Roach: Extremely happy and the thing is that she’s been out of it for a little while herself . You know the big fight never came it seemed like and then after that movie it’s on her doorstep now. She’s been waiting for this her whole life so I’m sure she’s going to take full advantage of it.
Jerry Casarez: On a sidenote, everyone heard about the little scuffle she had at the Wildcard. Did dhe suffer any injuries from that and is she ok?
Freddie Roach: She hurt her knee a little bit in that scuffle, but we just need to protect it and be sensitive a little bit. But it’s almost gone completely so it’s still a little sore and still aches a little after workouts, but nothings going to stop her from fighting .
Jerry Casarez: That’s good to hear.
Freddie Roach: It’s just something that happen because I wasn’t in the gym that day. But if I was here that would have never happened of course, but you know part of life.
Jerry Casarez: What about another one of your fighters. You know with the Bernard Hopkins vs Jermain Taylor fight coming up you have a middleweight in the mix Kingsley Ikeke.
Freddie Roach: Kingsley’s doing very well. He‘s gonna fight on Aug 4th. It looks like it’s in Atlantic City. The opponent was named yesterday and I forget his name.
Jerry Casarez: Eppe Mendoza?
Freddie Roach: Yes [Epifanio ]Mendoza. There you go. Thank You. So he’s training really hard for this fight and he’s sparring with my young charge here my Olympian Vanes Martirosyan and he’s also been working with a kid from Scotland who has over 300 amateur fights. And they’ve been working with Kingsley also so we’ve had some good work. He’s got to come to Vegas with me while I’m there with Lucia and those guys cause I have to keep an eye on him also training for that fight. He’s looking forward to the fight and he looking forward to fighting the winner of that Hopkins fight if possible.
Jerry Casarez: How much confidence did he gain just from his fight with Antwun Echols last seen on ESPN?
Freddie Roach: Going into the fight obviously Echols was the toughest opponent for Kingsley I thought. He fought such a great fight. It gave him a big charge and a great confidence and i think that will carry over to the next fight. And Hopefully into a World title fight.
Jerry Casarez: You’ve worked with Kingsley in the past and he obviously works out at your gym, but you’re now offially his head trainer. Correct?
Freddie Roach: Yes I am. Yes...
Jerry Casarez: So this was really a seamless transition?
Freddie Roach: Well Kingsley came to the Wildcard for me to train him and I was kinda too busy so Eric took over. He did a great job with him, but Eric and the manager had a little disageement. So they parted ways and he’s always asked for me to help out so I’ve always given him a hand. So we know each other very well. A couple of adjustments we need to make and he’s a good kid. Eric’s a little dissapointed about it of course, but him and the manager just couldn’t get along. I hate to see stuff like that happen and so forth, but when Kingsley left him he came to me for help. You know Kingsley’s been a friend of mine for a long time. If he’s gonna ask for help I’m gonna give him 100%.
Jerry Casarez: What do you know about Eppe Mendoza?
Freddie Roach: You know I’ve watched tape of him before.....I forget who it was cause I was getting someone ready to fight him once before. So I just have to refresh my memory and I have the tapes of him at home so I’ll just watch them. This weekend I’ll watch the tapes at home and we’ll come up with a stradegy for him. From what I remember he’s right in front of you and tries to fight you a little bit. So I think anyone that wants to come to Kingsley they’ll have a difficult time getting past that jab.
Jerry Casarez: That’s right.
Freddie Roach: You know it’s no secret that it’s gonna be our main weapon and hopefully that’s gonna be enough.
Jerry Casarez: And I think it showed in the fight with a big banger like Antwun Echols.
Freddie Roach: Yeah we kept him at bay with the jab all night long . You know just busted him up and Kingsley’s stiff jab and big sharp knuckles do damage.
Jerry Casarez: You know it funny because I ran into Antwun a year ago and he told me a story about how they don’t call Kingsley Sharp Knuckle for nothing...(Laughs)
Freddie Roach: (Laughs)
Jerry Casarez: Kingsley had hurt his ribs in sparring with those knuckles and that he was looking for revenge, but it just didn’t come.
Freddie Roach: Kingsley’s a real nice kid and he’s a real good guy to work with. You know he’s a no attitude that makes my job easy.
Jerry Casarez: That’s awesome.
Freddie Roach: Yeah...
Jerry Casarez: Just a couple of weeks ago we saw Jr. Lightweight Bobby Pacquiao brother of Manny fight Carlos Navarro. How surprised were you to see Carlos quit and what did you think of Bobby’s performance?
Freddie Roach: You know Bobby landed a few bodyshots on him and so forth, but Navarro’s on the comeback trail a little bit and he had won a couple of fights, but he definitely isn’t what he once was. Bobby fought a good fight and showed a game fight. Navarro I think ...it’s a case of where he’s little jealous of his little brother, Manny having so much success and being the star at one time it must be hard to swallow.
It’s like when I started becoming a better fighter than my brothers they started becoming a little jealous. You know it’s just family stuff [laughs]. But you know I was surprised to see him quit in the fight though he was getting hit with some shots and hopefully he’ll come to his senses and call it a day. Because his best days are behind him and it’s a hard game to give up.
For his health I think it would be the best thing to do and he’s real nice kid and I like him alot and you know he’s been a real gentleman and friendly person around me. So I really like both Navarros. Both good guys but I think the little brother is gonna be a World champ soon and the older brother’s going to have to accept that.
Jerry Casarez: For the fans who didn’t see it can you explain what was the problem with Bobby’s shoes for the first couple of rounds?
Freddie Roach: I wasn’t there because I was in New York and so forth, but I was watching the fight on TV and I call Justin’s cellphone trying to get a message to him to put tape on the bottom of his shoes cause I heard them talking about Coca-Cola and stuff like that [laughs]. I’ve had that happen to me before and I would have been prepared for it right away. Somebody came up with the right idea so I was happy that happened. It made all the difference in the fight. It was funny I didn’t see the shoes. It looked like he was sliding like they were leather bottoms you know like the old school style shoes. I’m gonna buy Bobby a new pair of shoes for his next fight.
Jerry Casarez: [Laughs] Bobby really kept his composure for those first couple of rounds and after that once it became a fight it looked like Carlos wasn’t ready for that.
Freddie Roach: I was a little concerned with how much heart Bobby had, but he showed some balls in that fight and I was really happy for him. He might be back on Manny’s next show but I’m not sure yet. We’ve talked about it but I’m not sure if I like both brothers on the same show because sometimes it puts alot of pressure on Manny. So we’ll see because I’m not sure yet. Bobby made a big splash here in America and ESPN liked him so I’m sure he’ll be back soon.
Jerry Casarez: What can you tell us about his early loses and if that’s a case of poor training or short notice fights?
Freddie Roach: You know I’ve never really seen them and I’ve only worked with Bobby the last two fights. In the last one I couldn’t even be there but the fights that he lost happened in Thailand and the Philippines and so forth. But again I didn’t really see them so again its really hard for me to tell you why or how.
Jerry Casarez: Most recently one of your former charges Mike Tyson looks as if he’s called it a career. Were you happy to see Mike finally walk away from the game?
Freddie Roach: Yeah. You know I like Mike. Mike’s a good guy he’s my friend. A lot of people judge Mike Tyson and when I tell people that he’s a great guy they think I’m crazy a little bit. To me he’s a good guy I like Mike alot and I hope he stays retired. I hear a rumor that him and Foreman are talking about fighting or something like that. I hope that doesn’t happen cause Mike’s best days are behind him right now and you know if you do anything for too long in your life you’ll get bored of it. You know when I was in my last year of boxing I was just going through the motions and so forth. I think Mike was just in that same place where he just going through the motions but not really having his heart into it. I like to see Mike stay retired and you know I’d love to see him become a fight announcer because nobody knows boxing better than Mike Tyson. I think he’d be great for the TV.
Jerry Casarez: Mike’s definenettly a historian.
Freddie Roach: Yes he is. Yeah.
Jerry Casarez: I think that’s something the fans could see that the last couple of years or so Mike hasn’t really been hungry.
Freddie Roach: And you know when you lose that hunger there’s alot of easier ways of making a living than becoming a punching bag. You know. So I hate to see Mike become that so if you look at his last two fights. That would be the beginning of that road just to become the opponent and so forth. And I’d hate to see Mike become an opponent because he was a great champion at one time you know I think if he keeps going people will just remember him for the bad fights. People always remember the bad fights and not the good fights.
Jerry Casarez: That’s right.
Freddie Roach: I think that’s the nature of the human being. He was great at one time but it’s just not there anymore. Time is something we just can’t get away from.
Jerry Casarez: Now if I could get your thoughts on next weeks fight between the best middleweight in the world Bernard Hopkins and young charge Jermain Taylor. What’s your thoughts on it?
Freddie Roach: You know on paper it’s a real good fight. You got the young charge coming up and you’ve got the old dog that knows all the tricks. A great fight for the fans. I’m kinda in the middle about that one. I’m not sure who I’m picking to win that one. You know I think I could go either way in that fight. Of course everyone’s waiting for Bernard to get old overnight and it may happen but it hasn’t happened yet [laughs]. So it’s tough to count him out because he’s been such a warrior and he’s been around and so forth . Jermain Taylor’s got that really good jab and he throws it like a piston. He could give Hopkins some trouble with that. I’m gonna be there at the fight because I have Wayne McCullough on the show. But I think it’s going to be exciting.
Jerry Casarez: That was my next question to you. How’s Wayne [McCullough] and training coming along?
Freddie Roach: The thing is that I get summons to court for the Manny Pacquiao case because of Murad and I missed a couple of weeks of training with him so he’s been in Las Vegas getting in shape. We’ve talked on the phone alot, but I’ll be with him for his last week of training and that’s it. You know it’s very unusual thing for us, but the thing is I told Wayne pretty much that the last fight I thought he fought a pretty good fight, but that he just got a little tired in the end and the other guy came on down the stretch. He’s getting in real good shape for this fight and he’ll take it to him and of course Oscar Larrios is a hell of a Champion and he’s got alot of heart also. It’s kinda one of those can’t miss. It’s gonna be a great fight we know that. They’re gonna go toe to toe they’re not gonna have hard time finding each other. Win or lose I’d like to see Wayne think about calling it a day. He’s had a great career and I love to see him win the title and retire. We’ll see what happens though.
Jerry Casarez: It’s going to be a great fight and I think the first fight was a great fight.
Freddie Roach: It was. I mean Wayne is so game. Its like...maybe he scares me sometimes [laughs]. I’ve seen alot of tough guys in my life but maybe none as tough as him.
Jerry Casarez: Wayne’s got a very competitive nature and it shows.
Freddie Roach: Yes he does. I talk to him about stratagy and how to beat this guy but it’s no secret everyone know’s Wayne’s main game is pressure.
Jerry Casarez: Of course.
Freddie Roach: And that’s not gonna change, but I’m trying to get him to set his left hook up a little more. So he can get more power in that shot because if he can hurt this guy, I think he’d have a good shot of getting him outta there in the early rounds, but again Larrios is so game and tough. He has been stopped once before by Isreal Vasquez in the first round so it can happen.
Jerry Casarez: Do you think that’s going to help Wayne the fact that he’s coming off of the Larrios fight and that he has been active and has been in the gym?
Freddie Roach: Yeah. You know I think the key to winning this fight is his conditioning. The thing is he have the fight going at a hard pace to push Larrios but he’s going to have to keep that pace going all night long. I’ve seen him do it before . He told me he’s in great shape for this fight and unfortunately we didn’t get to spend as much time as we wanted to together but he’s had Kenny doing the mitts with him and I’ve been talking to those guys over the phone and I know what’s going on with him and I know he’s in great shape and so forth but the thing is I couldn’t be there because I was in that court case for two weeks. A little bit of a pain in the ass but it something that had to be done.
Jerry Casarez: One last question Freddie. Can you tell the fans about any young guys you have that they might want to keep an eye out for?
Freddie Roach: Well, you know Vanes Martirosyan the Olympian from Glendale. He’s on the Lucia Rijker show also. He’ll be fighting his first six rounder on the show. This kid is gonna be something I believe. He started sparring Kingsley Ikeke and guys like that already and he only has two pro fights and he’s holding his own. He’s a good kid. Pretty much he’s like my newest young charge out there. I expect big things for him.
Jerry Casarez: That’s awesome. The fans will definetely keep an eye out for him, He’s a guy that had alot of hype around the time of the Olympics and I think the fans will be looking for him in the Pros.
Jerry Casarez: Freddie on behalf of everyone at TalkingBoxing.com I want to thank you for your time and I wish you and your fighters success in there upcoming bouts.
Freddie Roach: Thank You very much I appreciate it.
Jerry Casarez: Thanks Again!
Freddie Roach: Anytime. Take Care
TalkingBoxing.com would like to thank the great trainer Freddie Roach for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with us. The time spent was a real pleasure as always!
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