Wild Card Freddie Roach

Freddie Roach has been in the boxing game since he first stepped into the ring at six years old. After 150 pro and amateur fights, Roach moved from fighting to training. As a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Roach has trained 18 world champions, including Mike Tyson, James Toney, Michael Moorer, Virgil Hill, Manny Pacquiao and Wayne McCullough.

We dropped in on Freddie at his famed Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., home to world champions, celebrities and the average Joe, to hear first-hand what a workout session is like under one of the world's greatest trainers. Here's what Freddie had to say about life in Wild Card:

• "We do have the celebrity aspect here, with guys like James Toney. And Mario Lopez is in here every day. But most of our clientele are blue collar people who just want to get a workout. And I do one-on-one instruction only - no classes."
• "Average people in here will do pretty much everything a pro boxer will do, except novices have the choice whether or not they want to be hit. Then after a while, when I get a little more comfortable with their progress, I might put them in a ring with someone who knows what they're doing. I would never put two green people in there together."
• "A typical workout for a beginner would start by stretching. Then we'd go three rounds of jump rope. From there it's working on stance, throwing combos, hooks and uppercuts. And then how to mix them together. Following that, we'd do some work on the speedbag. The whole time we do three minutes of work and then 30 seconds of rest. And we'd typically end up on the mat doing sit-ups. The whole session would last about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes."
• "If you compare an experience at Wild Card with what you'd get at a regular gym, it's totally different. The thing is, just doing weights gets boring. Here you're learning something every day."

Do you have a training question for Freddie? Drop him an email at Freddie@everlast.com. We'll pick out a few emails and Freddie will answer the questions in the next issue.