Freddie Roach recognized a fighter he only saw once - 30 years later (Part Two)

Dallas Boxing Examiner | Matt Stolow
Just over two years ago, the HBO Brass brought mega star Oscar De La Hoya and upstart Floyd Mayweather to Dallas, Texas to hype their fight in front of the assembled media and possibly 1,200 nearby lunch time members of the public in downtown Dallas.

This was a big production. 12 -15 media cameras were on the platform, dozens of professional photographers were jockeying for space with numerous fans just wanting to capture the excitement on their cell phones. Dallas was a stop because it's the No. 5 media market in the country.

The fighters were flying in from somewhere else and flying to their next stop of Miami immediately after doing Dallas.

The fighter camps came in via separate, private luxury jets.

I remember Mayweather was in Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer's face from the moment they landed in Dallas because he wanted to fly back to Las Vegas on his team jet to celebrate his birthday, except it wasn't on the itinerary nor was it his jet.

I don't remember how it turned out but the thug - like intimidation act by Mayweather didn't go down well with me and from then on I had an "in" for Mayweather antics albeit father, uncle, and junior that has only grown worse to this day.

I'll tell that story another day.

Anyway, back to the Dallas press conference.

The press conference went off without a hitch and the fight went on to do record numbers.

De La Hoya's trainer at the time, Freddie Roach, had seen and heard it all before and taking everything in stride that day.

A bull session of conversation started up of random HBO execs, casino execs, key local media, camp personnel and Dallas boxing mafia soon after the press conference ended and before everyone headed back into the limousine motorcade and back to the airport for Miami.

Roach looked over at a fellow he probably hadn't seen in 30 years and said," You won't remember this but very early in my career I fought as a pro on the undercard of your fight at the old Boston Garden against Marvelous Marvin Hagler."

The exact date was September 24, 1977.

Roach was talking to Dallas boxing icon "Big" Sugar Ray Phillips, now in his 50s and you could have heard a pin drop for several moments. Then undefeated (11-0) Phillips couldn't come out for the 8Th round of a scheduled 10 that night (stopped on cuts) against Hagler - who was just biding time as the boxing establishment avoided him for a couple of years but eventually had to give him his shot at the middleweight title.


It was a yeoman effort by Phillips.


The silence was because it separated who knew their boxing and who were the con men in their suits. How did Roach recognize him?

Phillips, with class, shook Freddie's hand and thanked him for the compliment. Most in the group of about 15 never knew who Phillips was.

Phillips retold the story on Wednesday at a special media lunch hosted by Hall of Fame referee Richard Steele who had flown in from Las Vegas for tomorrow's Steele Cage MMA show at the Dr Pepper Center in nearby Frisco, Texas.

The talk at the lunch table was the upcoming Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto fight November 14 from Las Vegas.

Link to my in - depth story yesterday on the predictions for Pacquiao vs Cotto fight and other yarns.

http://www.examiner.com/x-11372-Dallas-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m11d5-Lunch-with-two-Boxing-Hall-of-Famers-and-a-TV-star-in-Dallas-Part-One

On hand at the lunch was another Hall of Fame member, welterweight champ Curtis Cokes. Texas Boxing Commissioner Dickie Cole and former trainer of Donald Curry from his amateur and pro days Paul Reyes of Fort Worth was also there. Reyes was Trainer of the Year as voted by the Boxing Writers of America Association in 1986.

Phillips also told a story of his days as the conditioning coach of troubled Dallas heavyweight Ike Ibeabuchi.

Phillips spoke about the hit T.V. show he co-stars in. Eye for an Eye, is a hilarious reality TV court room drama translated weekly into 50 countries and most of America in very late night hours.


http://eyeforaneyetv.com/


But Freddie Roach, now putting the finishing touches on Manny Pacquiao for November 14, wasn't even in Dallas Wednesday but the story Phillips told - and I was there - when Roach said it and when Phillips retold it is the same and the absolute truth.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-11372-Dallas-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m11d6-Freddie-Roach-recognized-a-fighter-he-only-saw-one--30-years-later-Part-Two