Freddie Roach legendary trainer of World champions past and present including Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan and Steve Collins SIGNED (silver sharpie) Lonsdale training mitt.

Price: £ SOLD

Frederick "Freddie" Roach (born on March 5, 1960) is an American boxing trainer and a former professional boxer. Roach is of French-Canadian descent. Roach is one of the most well-known boxing trainers in the World, having been voted Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009. He is currently the trainer of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan, top prospects Jose Benavidez, Peter Quillin and Julio César Chávez, Jr., UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Boxing Career
Roach was trained by his father Paul Roach at a young age along with his brothers Pepper and Joey. As a teenager, he was a dominant force in the New England amateur and AAU ranks. Roach would turn pro in 1978, fighting as a lightweight and would win his first 10 bouts. Roach would train under legendary trainer Eddie Futch and go 26–1 before appearing in a historic match at the Boston Garden on June 11, 1982. The card that night would be the only time the three Fighting Roach Brothers would appear at the same time.

Brothers Joey and Pepper won their undercard bouts but in the main event, Freddie lost a unanimous decision to Beto Nunez. Freddie would rebound and go on to contend twice for the world championship. 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. 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.

Boxing Trainer
After his retirement from fighting, Roach worked in a variety of jobs around Las Vegas including telemarketing and a busboy before taking a job with his former trainer and mentor Eddie Futch as an unpaid assistant in 1986. He would instantly excel in his new position and worked as Futch's assistant for five years.

In 1991, Mickey Rourke turned to boxing mid-way through his acting career, and hired Roach to train him in Hollywood, CA. In 1995, when Rourke decided to quit boxing, he gave gym equipment to Roach, and it can be found in the Wildcard to this day.

Roach owns the Wild Card Boxing Club/Gym in Los Angeles and works alongside his brother Pepper. He is currently one of the most popular trainers in boxing. Roach's prized ward is eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. Roach also once trained Oscar De La Hoya for his May 5, 2007 superfight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr.. His first world champion was Virgil Hill, whom he took over from his own former trainer, Eddie Futch. He is also the current trainer for British boxer Amir Khan, who became the WBA light welterweight World Champion on July 18, 2009, under Roach's tutelage. Roach has trained 27 world champions to date.

In the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), Roach has trained former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski and was one of his primary trainers for Arlovski's victory over Ben Rothwell on July 19 at Affliction's inaugural show. He has also trained MMA fighter Dan Hardy for his fight with Marcus Davis at UFC 99 as well as MMA greats, Tito Ortiz, Anderson Silva, and BJ Penn. In May 2010, he began a training engagement with Georges St. Pierre in advance preparation for the fighter's successful UFC welterweight title defence against Josh Koscheck at UFC 124. Roach has also trained many other prominent mixed martial artists, such as: pro boxer and kickboxer, and former EliteXC Lightweight Champion, K.J. Noons.; Roger Huerta, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. In March 2010, Roach expressed interest in wanting to train former Pride FC and WAMMA Heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko.

As of March 2011, Roach is busy training Manny Pacquiao for his bout against Shane Mosley scheduled May 7, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Parkinson's Disease
Roach suffers from Parkinson's disease. As chronicled in the HBO series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, 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 hand-eye coordination that he has to exhibit has 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 Boxing Writers Association of * America Trainer of the Year
* 2008 World Boxing Council (WBC) "Lifetime Achievement Award"

Boxers Trained
Dru Cunningham
Amir Khan
Andy Ruiz
Bernard Dunne
Bernard Hopkins
Bobby Pacquiao
Brian Minto
Craig McEwan
David Rodela
Dimitri Kirilov
Gary Stretch
Gerry Peñalosa
Israel Vázquez
James Toney
Jamie Kavanagh
Jose Benavidez
Julio César Chávez, Jr.
Manny Pacquiao
Marlon Starling
Michael Moorer
Mickey Rourke
Mike Tyson
Omar Chávez
Oscar De La Hoya (2007)
Paul Malignaggi
Peter Manfredo Jr.
Peter Quillin
Roman Karmazin
Steve Collins
Vanes Martirosyan
Virgil Hill
Wayne McCullough
Wladimir Klitschko (former assistant trainer)
James Hannum

Others:
Shaquille O'Neal (in 2 episodes of Shaq Vs.)
Mark Wahlberg for the Oscar-nominated film The Fighter

Mixed Martial Artists Trained
Jose Aldo
Anderson Silva
Andrei Arlovski
B.J. Penn
Dan Hardy
Georges St-Pierre
K.J. Noons
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Roger Huerta
Tito Ortiz
Caol Uno
Frank Mir