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Freddie Roach the TRUE CHAMPION of the HBO 24/7 Series in My Eyes!!!!!!!!!
After watching the first two episodes of HBO's Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather Jr 24/7 I would have to be so bold as to give my personal opinion on who is the real star and "champ" in my eyes of this reality show that HBO so cleverly produced.
You see we all know Floyd Mayweather Jr is clearly acting as he himself admits in his own words that there can not be two good guys in this so he chose to be the bad guy, the villain. So he for the two past episodes has turned up the FLOSSIN, cockiness, arrogance, the sh*t talking up to full blast for the cameras. All he has been doing is being quite obnoxious in dissing Oscar and attacking him verbally as much as possible. Generations ago when Ali was the best heavyweight and even the best pound for pound he too taunted, ridiculed the hell out of his opponents. But Ali did it in a smooth, charming, clever way that made you want to see just what can this brilliant man come up with next to say. Floyd on the other hand lacks that natural gift and personality if you will that Ali so gracefully displayed. Ali went down in history as not only one of the greatest fighters ever but one of the greatest, most influential leaders, who inspired millions in his generation and millions more today. I am pretty sure that Floyd Mayweather Jr when looked at from many generations later would not be seen in the same light as Ali was and still is today. Now I do give Floyd props for at times in the 2nd episode of 24/7 keeping it real and humbling enough to show where he came from and admit he had it rough for never having a mother or father figure in his childhood. It was also even interesting to see how his family gatherings would consist of boxing matches in their backyard from his little cousins to even his female relatives lacing up the gloves. All these more humble and REAL moments unfortunately are overshadowed by his overly flossin and playing for the camera with hanging out with 50cent in his entourage.
Now Oscar De La Hoya on the other hand is fake for the complete opposite reason Floyd is. Oscar pretends to be the "good guy". He tries so hard to play off this clean cut, PC, Pop Star image in front of the cameras. By trying to appear to be this wholesome family man whos now married with legitimate children. He tries so hard to never cuss or even talk trash while the cameras are rolling. But more intelligent fans of the sport can see right thru this and would wish Oscar for once would be more REAL and genuine since it is after all supposed to be a reality show as HBO described it. Why hasn't Oscar kept it more real and expressed his many frustrations with the sport and all the BS and politics he himself has been thru? Why hasn't he talked about the shady decisions he had to endure? The tension he has with promoters like Arum who yes helped mold him into the superstar who he is today, but who he could not care for much at the moment. Why won't he pay Sugar Shane Mosely a dime for sparring with him and probably being the best and smartest asset to him in his training camp sessions? I would also hope to believe he was not so cheap that he gave his wife Millie only a cake for her bday as the footage implies? Why doesnt he fire back at Floyd Mayweather Jr when he is so called out in front of all his fans at the various press conferences? Or atleast come back with a clever rebuttal? Is he more concerned about this fake, clean cut, wholesome, Pop Star image he wants to uphold just in case he loses his cool and says or does the wrong thing with the cameras rolling? Is Oscar planning on running for office later? I would not be shocked if he is trying to uphold this fake politician like image?
Then we come to the real star and the real champ in my eyes of the HBO 24/7 series and that is in my opinion Freddie Roach! Freddie Roach, trainer of the year yet again and now the current trainer for Oscar De La Hoya for his fight with Mayweather has to be the only one in my eyes who is keeping it REAL! From the 24/7 series we see the true character/personality of Freddie Roach and I could not be more happier that finally a great man has finally got his due/exposure/recognition. We all know Roach is battling Parkinson’s as he admits in the 24/7 Series. But what some of us may not have known was how hard he trains every day with his fighters to combat and fight off the Parkinson’s. I was most inspired by Roach by what I saw in the episode 2 on how hard he trains even with the trembling and shaking that he can not control through out his body. Oscar said it best when he said Roach even out lasts his fighters when it comes to training. Even more so Roach's personality is top notch. He does not once complain or seem even negative about his battle with Parkinson’s he acts as if it does not even exist. Out of the two men in the 24/7 series who I am supposed to be inspired from I am not inspired at all, but instead I am truly inspired by Freddie Roach.
I personally have had the honorable pleasure of meeting Freddie Roach at his famous Wild Card gym on one of my past business trips to the LA area. Even though at the time this may have been the most important training camp for his most hottest fighter for their most career defining fight(Pacquiao vs Morales III), Freddie Roach did not crack under the pressure or stress. He was as calm and focused as a man can be in his shoes. I was watching the Destroyer destroy his sparring partners when all of a sudden Freddie looks at me and calls me over to him. Now I don't quite recall why exactly he called me over to him, but next thing you know he's interrupting his trainers to ask them if they could please take a picture of me and him. I could not believe how much of a nice genuine class act this man was? He then took the time to answer ALL of the questions I had for him, Pacquiao, and the up coming match with Morales. I even remember jokingly telling him that if Morales is not able to make weight that you guys should throw MAB in as a last minute replacement. But what was funny is I did not say Marco Antonio Barrera but I said MAB. So he took a couple seconds to realize that MAB is Marco Antonio Barrera and then he replied back to me on the matter.
While hanging out with Freddie Roach I unfortunately saw all of the trembling and shaking going on through out his body. To be honest I thought at the time his body was weak and frail. But then seeing how hard he trains every day with his fighters and to see how much he gives it 24/7 makes me realize that I was wrong. Roach is by no means weak and frail. Roach is stronger and faster than alot of the common folk out there who do not have a disease like Parkinson’s. Roach has the heart, mind, soul, determination, blood sweat and tears of a true champion!
In a time where the sport of boxing lacks so many stars and champions who can inspire us. I found the one man in the sport who does inspire me and that is FREDDIE ROACH!
and yes again my friends this has been REEEEEEAAAAAAL TALK!
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Originally Posted by sleeplessrevolution
Excellent assestment. Totally agree about Roach. Wish I had the same oppurtunity to meet him. Maybe one day. The man is a class act from what I've seen. I watched a special about female boxers a few years back. The story focused alot on Lucia Rijker, who was trained by Roach at the time. All of his fighters, lived in the same house. Among some of the more famous was James Toney. Roach truly cared for his fighters. Even showed him cooking for them (maybe 8 in all). From what the fighters were saying (especially Toney and Rijker), was that they were all family, and from what was showed, it was clearly because of Roach. At the time, he hadn't been diagnosed with parkinsons, or at least it hadn't been released to the media. Although I'll be rooting against his fighter, I wish him all the luck and support in his personal battles. God Bless Freddy.
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