Freddie Roach: record, next fight and profile →
As BoxingScene.com reported earlier this week, eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) made an unexpected decision to part ways with his longtime trainer Freddie Roach. Pacquiao has been trained by Roach since 2001 - and the two have worked side by side for 34 fights.
As host, Ward brings his undefeated record and undisputed boxing expertise to The Contender. Throughout his incredible 13-year undefeated career, he’s held multiple world titles in two weight classes including, unified WBA (Super), WBC, Ring magazine, and lineal super middleweight titles between 2009 and 2015 as well as the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF, WBO, and Ring’s light heavyweight titles between 2016 and 2017. Ward also won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
This past Saturday night, Jose Ramirez picked up his biggest career win to date, when he won a solid twelve round unanimous decision over Amir Imam, who was viewed as a very live opponent. By defeating Iman, Ramirez (who improved to 22-0, 16 KO's) captured the vacant WBC 140-pound belt. The title opened up after Terence Crawford moved up to the welterweight division.
NEW YORK – Like most boxing observers, Freddie Roach favors Vasyl Lomachenko over Jorge Linares. But Roach, Linares former trainer, was impressed enough by what he saw from the WBA lightweight champion six weeks ago to think he has a chance to upset Lomachenko when they meet May 12 at Madison Square Garden. Ukraine’s Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs) will move up from the super featherweight division (130 pounds) to challenge Venezuela’s Linares (44-3, 27 KOs) in a 12-round, 135-pound title fight ESPN will televise.
Ramirez relentlessly pressured Imam and pounded away with hard left hooks, and Imam just couldn't keep him off for all three minutes. Ramirez won the final three rounds on all three scorecards after Imam had gotten back into the bout with some good work in the middle rounds.
NEW YORK – Freddie Roach doesn’t expect Jose Ramirez’s next fight to be nearly as easy as his last bout. Nevertheless, Ramirez’s renowned trainer does think Ramirez will leave The Theater at Madison Square Garden with the unclaimed WBC super lightweight title Saturday night. Roach respects Amir Imam’s power, but believes Ramirez will prove he is the better fighter when they meet in a 12-round, 140-pound title fight ESPN will televise as the main event of a tripleheader (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT).
This coming Saturday night, renowned trainer Freddie Roach leads undefeated Jose Ramirez into battle against Amir Imam for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title at the Theater at New York's Madison Square Garden as the main event on ESPN. Roach says of Imam (21-1, 18 KO's) - "it's a tough fight, he's got a good right hand, good puncher."
On Friday night at the OC Hangar in Costa Mesa, California, Azat Hovhannisyan impressively halted former title challenger, Ronny Rios, in six rounds. With that nature of his victory, he may have earned a crack at WBC super bantamweight titlist Rey Vargas.
Freddie Roach feels Scott Quigg’s power has been underestimated entering his featherweight title shot against Oscar Valdez. England’s Quigg, who Roach has trained for a little over a year, has knocked out two of his three opponents since he moved up from super bantamweight to featherweight following his split-decision defeat to Carl Frampton two years ago.
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who leads the corner of former champion Scott Quigg, is confident that his boxer will come out on top when he challenges WBO featherweight king Oscar Vadez on March 10 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. For Valdez (23-0, 19 KOs), this will be his fourth title defense since winning it in 2016. Quigg (34-1-2, 25 KOs) will be making his U.S. debut.