“On Freddie Roach” Media Day With Boxers

There was a pound-for-pound group of fighters covering every square inch yesterday at the famed Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

I was there for the special announcement of the new HBO series “On Freddie Roach,” which will debut January 20 on the cable network.

Trainer extraordinaire Freddie Roach, filmmaker and actor Peter Berg, and Executive Producer and HBO commentator Jim Lampley held court by the main ring as they shared their enthusiasm for the upcoming TV show.

But there were also many busy bodies in the backdrop as I couldn’t help but notice a stockpile of boxers covering every square inch of the famous boxing gym.

The Wild Card, itself, is covered wall to wall with photos of Roach’s prized pupils, including the Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao. But on Friday, there was a wall to wall collection of hungry champions, contenders and up-and-comers all training hard to make their own dreams come true.

Everywhere I looked in each direction was a prizefighter honing his craft on the speedbag, heavybag or sparring in the additional ring on the side wall. This is one busy bunch of boxers as I caught with a few of them.

The majority of this hard-hitting crew have fights in January of February.

Three of the sluggers have fights on January 20. Former amateur stars DonYil Livingston and Zachary Wohlman will be in separate bouts on January 20 in Woodland Hills. Wolhman will be looking for his second victory in his second outing as a new pro; Livingston looks to keep his unbeaten record as a middleweight.

Matt Villanueva was also at the Wild Card sparring and getting ready for his January 20 bout at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. Team Villanueva is looking forward to this televised affair for the flyweight, who has an undefeated ledger.

Entertaining super bantam Khabir “The Crazy Russian” Suleymanov was also sparring. I caught up with Khabir, who told me he and his buddies are part of a Geegun concert tonight in North Hollywood. In the ring, the Russian boxer said he’ll be fighting in Mexico soon.

I also caught up with Alejandro “El Alacran” Perez who said his next match will be February 4 in Orange County. Almost at weight already, the featherweight is looking forward to his upcoming Telefutura fight. Outside the ropes, I asked Alex about being a “knockout artist” away from boxing. He says he loves art and I’ve seen many of his ink drawings which are very good.

Also in the gym was a Wild Card favorite, Rashad Holloway. The North Carolina pugilist has been traveling a lot and coming back from an injury. Rashad mentioned he’s ready to begin training and may be back in the ring around April.

One boxer was also working hard even though he doesn’t have a bout coming up any time soon. I met Paul Gator, a spirited senior citizen whom I first noticed trouncing the bags. The gray-haired boxer told me he’s been coming to Wild Card for over 10 years and it keeps him in shape and it clearly keeps him youthful. A true disciple of the sweet science.

Cruiserweight Lateef Kayode, lightweight Jorge Linares, and Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso were also lacing up at the famed boxing gym where I saw trainers Eric Brown, Sammy “The Toy” Stewart, Jesse Arevalo, Frankie Duarte, Shane Langford and manager Steve Feder watching and working alongside the fighters.

One person missed is trainer Pepper Roach, Freddie’s older brother, who is still not back in the gym after suffering a stroke last year. But Langford told me Pep is doing a lot better these days.

All of the fighters said they’re looking forward to their fights–and also will be tuning into Freddie’s new reality show, “On Freddie Roach” on HBO.

“This will be the BEST documentary show ever,” Shane Langford told me. “You’re will love it!”

In these photos by Maria Hedrick, check out some of the mugs training during a typical day at Wild Card!

Photos by Maria Hedrick