The final episode of HBO’s On Freddie Roach opened with a knockout. This knockout however was not by one of Freddie’s fighters, but by Freddie himself. Freddie never got to the level of boxing that he wanted to reach. He never won a world title and therefore was never a world champion, but today he known as the best trainer in boxing, and has been in the corner for dozens of world champions. Freddie trains fighters constantly, and literally never takes a day off despite being affected by Parkinson’s disease. Peter Berg does an absolutely fantastic job giving us a glimpse into his life and each one of these 6 episodes. The final episode is by far the most fascinating and gives a perfect conclusion to one of the best documentaries I have seen in a really long time. [Read more...]
TV WIthout Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 6
TV Without Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 5
Last week in On Freddie Roach we saw Freddie beginning his training with his most talented, and by far most popular fighter, Manny Pacquiao. This time, however, Freddie is not in Manny’s native Philippines. Instead Manny is in Hollywood at Freddie’s Wild Card Gym, and is only a few days away from his third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. It was incredible to see the change in the gym once Pacquiao is there. Any other time we have seen the Wild Card is has looked like any other boxing gym, but with Manny’s presence it has an entirely different aura, and in the middle of it all is Freddie who quietly reigns over everyone else inside. Pepper is still in rough shape from his stroke but he is definitely better than he was when we last saw him. It’s still sad to see him struggling to walk around, and move objects with his left hand when we saw him in the second episode having all of his motor skills functioning properly. The thing that easily stuck with me more than anything else from this episode though, and was something I didn’t think too much of last week, is the temper of Manny Pacquiao. [Read more...]
TV Without Commercials Review: On Freddie Roach 3
This weeks episode of On Freddie Roach gave us an opportunity to see yet another side of the remarkable Freddie Roach. For the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics Freddie has taken it upon himself to work with each one of the U.S. hopefuls. One thing that HBO didn’t really go into much detail on about this is that Freddie decided to do this on his own. No one is paying him, and no one asked him for his help either. Just the idea of asking a professional trainer, especially one as accredited and famous as Freddie Roach, is unheard of. What is discussed in this episode, by Freddie himself, is that he wants boxing to be what it once was in this country. Professional boxing is no where near what it once was in terms in popularity but amateur boxing is in even worse shape and Freddie is determined to change that. [Read more...]
