For 30 years, Wild Card Boxing Club has occupied a corner of Vine Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, in a retail square next to the likes of a barber, a stop-and-shop, a Thai restaurant, and an alcoholics anonymous meeting room. If you know, you know; but if you don’t, it would be easy to walk past without any idea that it has been the training ground for dozens of world champions and contenders since trainer Freddie Roach opened it 30 years ago with money he had earned from training movie star and aspirant pugilist Mickey Rourke.
But if Wild Card is most famous for clients such as Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, it is also a place where anyone can train in exchange for a daily fee or monthly membership, a place where boxing greats hit the heavy bags alongside Hollywood royalty and folks who simply want to use boxing to get in shape. It has, over the course of three decades, become a key part of the community; and on Sunday afternoon, under a bright blue southern California sky, the community gave back.
In recognition of the last 30 years, the area where Wild Card is located will henceforth officially be known as Freddie Roach Square, and in celebration of the occasion, a parade of dignitaries lined up to pay respect. Seeing the likes of former world champion and Roach disciple James Toney, or ESPN boxing analyst Mark Kriegel, in attendance was no surprise; former title challenger John Molina Jnr was present as well, but in his new capacity as a sheriff’s deputy with Los Angeles County. More surprising, perhaps, was the presence of a significant number of first responders, from LA Fire Department Battalion Chief Martin Mullen to Oscar Barragan, LA County Sheriff Department Commander. Even chief of police Jim McDonnell was there; although once he began speaking, his accent gave away the existence of a special bond with Roach.
“Freddie and I grew up a couple of miles from each other back in Boston, so for me, it's kind of a special place because of him,” McDonnell told BoxingScene. “When anybody talks about the Wild Card Gym, I think in the boxing community, certainly it's known worldwide. But for us in Los Angeles, this is a treasure of the city.” In particular, McDonnell is grateful for Roach’s little-publicized support for the city’s first responders.
The LAPD, he noted, has its own boxing team, “and we have fights to raise money for the City of Hope and other charities. And Freddie shows up. And our guys show up for their fight and they look out and see Freddie Roach, one of the icons of boxing, and it makes them feel pretty special.”
Roach and the Sheriff’s Youth Foundation have joined forces to launch the Freddie Roach Youth Boxing Academy, and McDonnell was full of praise for the endeavor.
“What Freddie has done for the youth of Los Angeles, and continues to do every day in bringing kids in who otherwise may be on the wrong track, and be able to give them the discipline, the opportunities that they might not have otherwise, and just to be able to learn about themselves as a person, to push their limits and to do things they didn't think they could do, and to believe in themselves: that's priceless,” he said. “That's something you could never buy. And Freddie does it and doesn't talk about it. He’s a very humble guy, but he’s a real champion of youth.”
Those thoughts were echoed by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
“They call this the cathedral of boxing, but as important as all the boxing accolades that Freddie Roach has received, he is one of our treasured community members because he gives back,” he explained to BoxingScene. “He understands the importance of not only creating great boxers but creating great human beings and great citizens of LA County. That's why law enforcement is here. That's why the DA’s office is here. Freddie is the type of community member that we hold up as an example to the rest of the community. So, he has my sincerest congratulations, my biggest cheer, and the fact that they're naming the square after him is a very fitting tribute.”
Before he took his place on a temporary stage set up in the parking lot in front of the gym, Roach made a grand arrival in the back of a low-rider, which drove slowly down the street as Lorie Tubil of the LAPD’s Emerald Society Pipes and Drums walked ahead playing the bagpipes. He took photos with throngs of admirers and well-wishers. And he sat and beamed as one after another, the likes of McDonnell and Hochman, Barragan and Mullen, Kriegel, LA City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez and Steve Nissen of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took their turns to eulogize him.
Afterward, a visibly thrilled Roach struggled to wrap his head around it all.
“As I sat there on the podium, I was like, ‘Are they all talking about me?’” he joked. “Even at the beginning, when I was getting in that car, I thought, ‘Am I really getting in that?’ And then it dropped me off at the front of the gym, and the crowd just kept growing bigger and bigger. It made me really happy. It made me think of all the champions I’ve trained and the contenders I’ve trained. I guess it shows what I can do when I work at it. I mean, to have that many people say such things about you, I must be doing something right.
“I feel as good right now as I’ve ever felt in my life.”
Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, including most recently , and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.