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In a sport that is recognized universally as the “sweet science”, all too often the end for most fighters is usually very bitter. In the case of “Fast” Freddie Cadena the ending for this prospect could simply be described as tragic. It isn’t unusual to hear of fighters going off the deep end. Most often, your favorite pugilist ends up filing for bankruptcy because he is deeply in debt or ends up committing a heinous crime because they have no idea how to be productive with their own free time. And if all else is fine then they wind up “punch drunk”. So with nothing else to fall back on it’s usually downhill once their careers inside of the ring are over. But that is the critical component once their career was over; Freddie hadn’t even distinguished himself inside of the ring. Nine out of ten times it usually takes something outrageous and drastic in the sport of boxing to make the mainstream headlines. When Freddie Cadena made the headlines, instead of eliciting a non-affective response from us, he triggered an empathetic reaction amongst fight fans and boxing pundits that would have reached out if they were aware of the problem.
I am going to put a question on the table for all of the so-called historians and fight aficionados across the globe to answer: Is it the game that makes these guys go off the deep end? Or is it the fact that some guys are already coming into the game with a few “screws” missing? It’s simple to just blame boxing. But is it really that easy? Boxing has always been an outlet to those of the inner city a way of getting out. Not always, throughout the history of the sport you have had your white-collar fighter. But lets face it, with the exception of Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko the amount of multi-lingual fighters with PhD’s can be counted on one hand.
The truth of the matter is that most boxers have one foot out of the ghetto and the other out of the penitentiary. James Butler, Mike Tyson, Jameel McCline, and Bernard Hopkins just are prime examples of this phenomenon. Of all of the guys that have fought and have had a troubled past, you can make the argument that boxing saved the life of Bernard Hopkins. He beat boxing it never beat him. The same can be said of Mike Tyson, it’s just unfortunate he had difficulty distinguishing who was sincere and looking out for his best interest. I am not making excuses for the man, but in the case of Freddie Cadena, he had no one. He truly epitomized the phrase of “Me against the world.”
Anger can be an extremely self-destructive emotion, but when it is channeled properly it can provide the fuel to succeed. Whether or not you agree with Sigmund Freud is not the question. You do have to admit that he was right when he stated that your problems derive from your childhood; which was completely true in the case of Cadena.
The Puerto Rican native by way of the rough streets of Paterson, New Jersey had an upbringing that you yourself wouldn’t wish upon your own worst enemy. He witnessed violence first hand on a regular basis before he could even walk. Part of the source of his anger was an abusive “dad”. Time in and time out Cadena’s father would viciously assault his mother while he would watch. Freddie said, “I have a lot of anger towards him. I wouldn’t want to see him in the streets. He used to beat my mother. That only made me more angry.” Luckily for his mom her abusive spouse hit the road. Unfortunately for Freddie he was still a kid, and lacked that male figure to play an influential role in his life.
Street fighting became a regular routine for Freddie until he found a boxing gym at the age of fifteen. He used the boxing gym as an outlet to release his stress. What better way to release your anger than competing in a sport that the objective is to hit the other guy upside the head? This should have been right up his alley. The next two years resulted in him competing in several amateur shows, and then he hit the first of many pitfalls in his life. At the age of 17, an argument with a stranger resulted in a fistfight. That fistfight resulted in him being incarcerated for six months. So with school now out of the question, and him in jail his mother cried out to him to not be like his father. When he was released from the county jail, Cadena claimed that he was rehabilitated. He felt he deserved a second chance to become a contributing member of society.
Part of becoming a contributing member of society dealt with grasping the concept of not having to settle everything with violence. A concept that Freddie said he understood. His return to the squared circle was one step above sensational. It looked as if he had never missed a beat. As an amateur he compiled a record of 68-4, winning the New Jersey Diamond Gloves twice (1994-95). He won the New Jersey Golden Gloves twice (1996-98.) he was a two time new Jersey amateur boxing federation champion twice (1996-98). He came in second place in the 1997 Jose “Cheo” Aponte International tournament. Also in 1998, he captured the biggest victory of his amateur career when he upset the future 2000 Olympian Marshall Martinez.
With such accolades as the ones mentioned combined with the boyish good looks, the highly skilled bi-lingual product of Paterson, New Jersey was destined to have a future brighter than Paul Wall’s smile.
In 1999, to no surprise Freddie Cadena made the decision to turn pro. Destined for greatness, Main Events signed him to a promotional deal. He had Pat Lynch as his manager, who at the time was and still is managing Arturo Gatti. World-renowned trainer Hector Rocha was training him, with a good team such as this; for once in Freddie’s life the pieces of the puzzle were properly falling into place. Or so it seemed to be. So with the right promotional deal, the right manager and a hall of fame trainer, you ask what could go wrong? Apparently everything.
Main Events had a lot of faith in their new star. Just to show you how confident they were in Cadena becoming a future champion, he was receiving more of a push and more television exposure than his stable mate Mexican Olympian Francisco “Panchito” Bojado.
From 1999-2001, Cadena steamrolled over his completion, in those two years he strictly fought on televised fight cards, specifically ESPN 2. He also fought on the undercards of big-big fights. He fought on the undercard of Gatti-De La Hoya as well as Trinidad-Joppy. In his first two years as a pro Cadena compiled a record of 9-0 and 6 of them were by way of knockout. Unfortunately in his ninth professional fight the conventional boxer/puncher suffered a major setback when he broke his hand against the rugged veteran Jaime Torres. The injury sidelined him and put him out of commission for eight months.
Again reminiscent of when he was a teenager his return to the ring was as if he hadn’t missed a beat. In his first fight back he knocked out his opponent in two rounds. From the spring to the winter of 2002 Cadena was on such a remarkable winning streak, had he been at a casino, he would have cashed out a long time ago. By now Cadena had compiled a record of 15-0 with 10 KO’s. As his fame and notoriety grew in the boxing world so did his stock. It was just a matter of time before he exploded on the scene. You could just smell a title shot just looming around the corner. Then all of sudden “D-Day” struck.
Doomsday came to Freddie Cadena on April 4th, 2003. A fight in which he squared up against an opponent by the name of Jesse Feliciano at the Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania. In a fight that should have been a breeze for the tough kid from Paterson, Cadena traded bomb after bomb with Feliciano for six straight rounds. Before you knew it a vicious combination to the head put him on the canvas, much to everybody’s disbelief. Although Cadena courageously got up on his feet, referee Steve Smoger correctly called a halt to the bout. Referee Steve Smoger has the reputation of letting the fighters fight. He is not known to stop fights prematurely, when he stops a fight, it’s usually because it’s bad. So Freddie Cadena suffered his first loss and much to everybody’s disbelief had been officially knocked out.
The chain of events gets worse. What happened next, you would swear came out of a script of a Stephen King movie. In front of everyone in the arena and on national television Freddie Cadena collapsed and went into convulsions on the canvas. He was immediately rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital where he remained for observation. Luckily he was o.k. The most he suffered was a concussion. On the surface it had appeared that Feliciano was the better fighter. But there was more than meets the eye. Prior to the fight with Feliciano, Cadena had switched trainers. Freddie had been working with another former fighter of Hector Rocha, James “Buddy” McGirt.
During Cadena’s preparation McGirt had placed Freddie on this rigorous diet of nuts during his training camp. The sole purpose of the diet was to help Freddie make the weight of 140 a lot easier as well as provide him with the proper nutrition and energy. What it did do was backfire. The diet caused him to be severely dehydrated during the fight. The seizure Freddie Cadena suffered at the end of the fight was the sole result of the diet.
As he looked to resume his career in the ring, he would once go to athletic commission in New Jersey. All it took was one time, because they grant him the proper licenses to fight in Jersey, and then every other state commission followed suit. Although Cadena may have passed the proper medical procedure to continue fighting, to allow him to resume his career was a fatality in the making. April 4th, 2003 would be the last time Freddie Cadena would ever lace up the gloves.
So with no other hobby outside of boxing, the only hope for Freddie’s salvation was his kids. His first born, Freddie Jr., was the apple in his eyes. On several instances Freddie, Sr., proclaimed that he was going to provide his kids with the happy childhood he never had. He stated, “I took all the negatives in my life and I turned them into positives.” He had the right idea in the mind but in order for you to love someone else you must first love yourself.
Cadena was a victim of circumstances way beyond his control. He was never provided with the adequate resources that would instill confidence and proper sophistication. His constant struggle with his insecurities and his complex about proving his toughness and validating his manhood had him on the brink of going AWOL.
Unfortunately for Freddie the concept of channeling ones anger was still lost on him. I have caught myself on many occasions asking myself if prisons and jails really work in rehabilitating a person. Unless they are there for life usually it doesn’t. It just makes the individual more livid, and when are they on the outside the transition for them is very difficult. So to him violence is what he knew and only knew. For him to walk away from a fight was like seeing Louis Farrakhan and Officer Mark Fuhrman at the same dinner table together. It would not happen.
As he went on in life searching for the inner peace that would console him and make him happy, his inner demons were just too overwhelming; his worst nightmare to materialize into a reality. Freddie Cadena became just like his father. He began assaulting his wife on a continual basis. Although he never abandoned his kids, his common run-ins with the law would not allow him to spend the mandated time with them. As his sob story continued to grow old and thin with county officials Cadena was put away on a domestic violence conviction and served three months in jail.
So after three felony convictions and a divorce, Freddie Cadena was a free man. Approximately four weeks after being released from jail and an unprecedented fourth chance at life, Cadena found himself at the Rio Grande nightclub in Paterson, New Jersey. A place where his ex-wife’s boyfriend was the deejay. It was not by chance that Cadena was there. He was there purposely. Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Latoracca said, “It appeared Cadena was looking for trouble.” The DJ’s name was Raphael “Ralfi” Falcon. He was a 27 year old from Venezuelan who now resided in Paterson.
Falcon had been in a long-term relationship with Cadena’s ex-wife, the mother of one of his four kids. The two men exchanged vicious words at one another over the course of the night. Cadena was told to vacate the premises and he did. However he was waiting outside for Falcon. Falcon who was under the impression that the dispute was over he went outside of the club only to find out that Cadena was still there. Authorities believe that Cadena threw a punch that knocked Falcon to the ground. As a result of the trauma he lost consciousness only to regain it again briefly while under observation at the hospital. While in the hospital Falcon clearly stated to the police that it was Freddie Cadena who hit him. Sadly for Falcon he lapsed into a coma, and was pronounced dead nine days later. Thus culminating a tragic end to this repetitive cycle of violence.
Violence is a word all too familiar to Freddie. His criminal background is based on violence. In 1996, he was charged with aggravated assault and sentenced to two years on probation. In 2002, he served time in jail and was placed on additional probation for simple assault. On September 16th, he pleaded guilty to terroristic threats and contempt of court for a domestic violence charge. For that offense he served 179 days in jail and was back on probation. Exactly one month later, he was charged with the death of Raphael Falcon.
Cadena was a fugitive on the run for over a week. On the 27th of October he turned himself in. Although it is unclear whether he will face murder or manslaughter charges each conviction carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. So either way you look at it, if found guilty Freddie Cadena is looking at 30 years in a maximum-security correctional facility.
There are so many losers in this tragic tale. Falcon’s family suffered a lost. Cadena’s ex-wife lost her boyfriend. Freddie Cadena lost his freedom in addition to losing a promising career. The fans lost out because they missed seeing a future star in great, great fights. But the biggest victims in this horror that are being overlooked are Freddie’s four kids. His kids’ (ages 9, 4, 3 and 1) have lost the dominant patriarchal figure kids are supposed to have growing up. So with no one there to fully watch them, they can fall victims to the streets the same way Freddie did. Thus leaving the potential open for the cycle of violence to continue.
He will now be forced to explain to his kids why he couldn’t provide the happiness he promised them when they were young from behind steel bars for the 30 years.
Freddie Cadena lacked empathy. If you are empathetic you are compassionate. If you are compassionate then you have restraint. If you have restraint then you have toughness. Toughness gets misconstrued all the time for letting your fist fly. It’s knowing when to let them fly that’s the key. A quality that is extremely vital for a boxer’s well being. A quality obviously that Cadena did not possess. His on going battle to prove his toughness, not to the world but to himself was already proven when he laced up those boxing gloves and stepped into the ring. It’s just too bad he never realized that.
So instead of us boxing fans talking about the possible Puerto Rican showdown between Freddie Cadena and the current W.B.O. champ Miguel Cotto we are talking about, What should of? What could of? And what would have become of “Fast” Freddie Cadena right now.
