Roach's Parkinson medication leaves him depressed but working with Manny helps counter the effects
"Freddie Roach, the Hall of Fame trainer charged with coming up with the strategy for his star student Manny Pacquiao to end Floyd Mayweather’s 47-fight winning sequence in 14 days’ time, says that being “married to boxing” has saved him from suicide.

Roach, who says the medication he takes for Parkinson’s disease gives him these suicidal thoughts, also revealed in an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport that Pacquiao had changed his life.

“I never have a day off,” the 55‑year-old coach says in a break from training at the Wild Card Gym, which he runs in Hollywood, California. “My girlfriend’s going to leave me. I’m in the gym every day, it’s part of life. Instead of taking a vacation, I like what I do. My vacations are right here.”

Roach has had Parkinson’s disease for 23 years. But he reckons that getting in the ring, working on the pads, maintains a sharpness he would otherwise not have.


“I don’t get sick too often. When I’m sick, I just go to the gym and it goes away. With Parkinson’s, sometimes you wake up and think: ‘Why the f--- did they pick me?’ But, you know, that’s part of life. Some of the medications do cause depression and so forth and some mornings I’ll think about bad things. But then I’ll go to the gym and go to work and everything bad goes away."

Preparing Manny Pacquaio for Floyd Mayweather fight saves me from suicide, says Freddie Roach - Telegraph