As you see Freddie Roach on the most recent episode of “24/7”
awaiting the arrival of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who faces Sergio Martinez on
Saturday night at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, you might be
reminded (if you're old enough) of the iconic Maytag commercials. Their washers were said to be so sturdy and reliable
that their repairman and his services were hardly needed. With Chavez basically
training (or not) at his whim, you get the sense that Roach has become “Ol’
Lonely” as he sits around the Top Rank Gym for hours at a time with nothing to
do.
Guess what? He doesn't
necessarily disagree with this comparison.
“Very, very true, that's a
very good analogy,” he said on Tuesday night, laughing loudly at the mere
thought. “Sometimes it's a little frustrating but as long we get the call and
we go to work, then I'm satisfied.”
On this particular night in
front of the HBO cameras, a peeved Roach is informed by a member of Chavez's
crew that the son of “JC Superstar” would be taking the day off (which is fine.
Of course, it would've been a little bit more considerate if Team Chavez would've
called the respected trainer a tad earlier). But seriously, how much of this is
staged and how much is actually reality? As we know by now, sometimes there is
no “reality” in reality TV and “24/7,” for all its bells and whistles, is
essentially an infomercial designed to create storylines and interest in the
pay-per-view event.
“The thing is it's good TV
and stuff like that. But the thing is I do wait for him like I do for some
other fighters also. And if he gives me a call and tells me he wants to work
out at the house, I just drive out to the house and we do the mitts out there.
I'd rather be in the gym and work in a boxing ring but he's a little bit odd.
But he's getting the work in though and he is training very hard,” explained
Roach. The bottom line is fighters like Chavez play by a different set of
rules. A-list actors get their own plush trailers and sometimes shooting is
delayed until they are nice and ready. In sports, while the back-up better show
up for every practice five minutes early, the all-star will be given much more
leeway in that regard, even getting a few days off. Working for Manny Pacquiao-
who's well known for changing his mind or delaying decisions - has
prepared him for this.
Like Frank Sinatra, these
guys will do it their way.
“Definitely; they're world
champions and I'll give them the courtesy of waiting for them and they need
their rest and I'll kiss their ass a little bit,” admitted Roach, who said that
before he came out to Vegas a few weeks ago, that one missed session would
cause him to go back to Los Angeles. But he's a realist; when you train
fighters who have become bona fide franchises, you bend the rules. “If he was
just an ordinary fighter, I probably wouldn't do it.”
Yeah, and the pay ain't bad
either. A large part of what you get for this gig is putting up with this
stuff.
What rankles many observers
and fans is that Chavez is already thought of as a product of his father’s
legendary career and Top Rank's promotional machinery. He proved long ago that
he's much more than just a novelty act; that much is true. However, many see
him renting a multimillion-dollar mansion during training camp - which doesn't exactly
conjure up memories of “The Jail” Marvin Hagler would subject himself to at
deserted vacation resorts - and it just reinforces the perception that Chavez
Jr. is a child of privilege in a sport made up of hard men from hard
backgrounds. But when you're the scion of a Mexican legend, you're not going to
be like every other prizefighter.
There was a time when a bout
against “Maravilla,” the true middleweight king, was thought of as a gross
mismatch. Now the oddsmakers have Chavez as just a two-to-one 'dog. The genesis
of this bout ever becoming a reality began in earnest as Chavez won the WBC
title - which was vacated by Martinez - last June against Sebastian Zbik. From
there, he has defeated Peter Manfredo Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio and, most
recently, Andy Lee. The Top Rank brain trust, Roach and the father had seen
enough at that point to pull the trigger on this fight.
Roach told Maxboxing, “I
think we're ready for Martinez. I think [Chavez]’s matured quite a bit; he's
learned a lot in all his fights and from the [John] Duddy fight on. He's been
getting better and better. In his last fight with a southpaw (Lee) - he doesn't
like to fight southpaws that much - he did very well in that fight. We
definitely think he's ready for the fight and it's definitely not an easy fight
but we're definitely 100 percent ready and I think we can break this guy down
and get him outta there in the late rounds.”
In some ways, this match-up
reminds Roach of Pacquiao's first bout against Marco Antonio Barrera back in
2003, when the “Pac-Man” came in as the betting underdog. Roach believed that
if Pacquiao could force a quick pace, they would win that fight - which is
precisely what happened. Pacquiao scored a surprising 11th round
stoppage that night in the Alamodome in San Antonio. Roach believes Junior must
pressure Martinez early and often. “We definitely have to get this guy out of
his comfort zone and he has the best asset in the world with his speed. It's
going to be tough to deal with but if we break him down, slow him down, take
his legs away, we'll be successful,” he says.
Regardless of what takes
place this weekend, win, lose or draw, Roach says there will be no excuses or
alibis.
“After the workout last
night (Tuesday), [Chavez] was six pounds over and we'll make weight, it looks
like, relatively easier than we have in the past and he's definitely ready to
prevail in this fight.”
So what was the plan for
Wednesday night? Would Roach have to make a house call?
“We're waiting or the call
right now,” said Roach, chuckling. “He's going to call me at 8 o'clock and I
told him we're going to the gym tonight because we need the ring to put the
final touches on the routine. The living room just doesn't cut it sometimes.”