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Freddie and the Filipinos
By Steve Kim (July 19, 2007)

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There really isn't an official trainer of the Philippines. But if there was one, the unanimous distinction would belong to one Freddie Roach, who has become a pied-piper of sorts to this country’s boxers due to his success with the iconic Manny Pacquiao.

For the last month, everyday around 11 am, the Wild Card Boxing Club transforms into Cebu City as a stream of Filipino fighters walk into his gym and make their presence felt all over.

Roach has been prepping Czar Amonsot for this Saturday night’s bout against Michael Katsidis for the WBO lightweight title. A host of other Pinoy punchers are scheduled to go next month.

"We got the World Cup coming up on August 11th, we have a gym full of Filipinos and of course Czar fighting on the Hopkins show in a title fight," explained Roach a couple of weeks ago outside his gym. "It's a lot of work, it's a lot of action going on and they have a great work ethic and I love that in fighters. It's a lot of mitt work and just a lot of wear and tear on me. But it's what I love though."

There are times when the entire ring will be filled by Z Gorres, Bert Batawang, Gerry Penalosa, AJ Banal and Amonsot, working on the mitts with various trainers.

They don't come into the gym with the fanfare of Manny Pacquiao - who has spawned this boxing boom in his country - but they work every bit as feverishly.

"They do," Roach concurred. "They come from a third world country and they're very poor and it's a way out for them. I think Pacquiao really opened up their eyes. The thing is, since Pacquiao's explosion on the scene, the Philippines have just really taken off. I think the talent’s always been there. You work hard and good things happen."

Getting the lion’s share of Roach's attention has been Amonsot, a big, strong lightweight who takes on the hell-bent-for-leather style of Katsidis.

"Czar's a great guy, a big, strong guy and he's in a tough fight, a title fight. But I love him in the fight though, to be honest with you, because he's in great shape, he's got the tools to beat this guy and this guy’s very aggressive and so forth. But if we can back this strong guy up, I think we'll have an easy time," said Roach.

On that same night, Roach will be working double duty as he will be in the corner of the night’s main event featuring Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright. But that will be child’s play compared to the August show in Sacramento, when Amonsot's colleagues all appear on the same bill.

"I'll have to bring my assistants and some lessons in hand-wrapping, of course, without Macka Foley and Justin Fortune not being there anymore. I have some new guys," says Roach. "We'll get it together and I have some Filipino helpers, also, that are here. I'm going to be busy that night. I'll just stay in the blue corner and just change my jacket."

Another logistical nightmare comes in trying to figure out the day’s sparring. With so many fighters that need work, as Roach prepared to leave for Texas in early July to work Craig McEwen's bout, he would actually have to write a lineup down, with the scheduled amount of rounds against a specified sparring mate on a business card.

On July 6th, Gorres would go a few rounds with Alejandro Perez. Then Batawang would move around with Francisco Rosado and George Diaz. The still-sharp Gerry Penalosa (who faces Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBO 118-pound belt on August 11th) would get in there with Andrey Kostin, and then countryman, Rey Bautista, before Amonsot would get his rounds in against Artyom Hovannisyan.

Overseeing that day’s sparring is Eric Brown, who says of the Filipino crew: "They all come in and work out hard. They don't come in and play around. They come in, they get right to business."

The fighters seem to have a close bond. They seem to watch each other’s sparring intently as they finish off their own rounds.

"It's almost like they are a big family," said Brown, who will be working the card in Sacramento. "They all watch each other work and they have a great camaraderie."

Which shouldn't be a surprise given that they all come from the same gym in Cebu, the ALA Gym (whose logo adorns their black boxing trunks), and have signed deals with Golden Boy Promotions.

"We started working with the Filipino fighters with Rey Bautista," explained GBP matchmaker Eric Gomez. "Rey was a hot prospect, we were scouting him, and a couple of other promoters were scouting him. I had the opportunity to meet with the managers and they invited me to go to the Philippines and I went out there and we formed a relationship with ALA Boxing Club. Which is Mr. Antonio Lopez Aldeguer, which is what it stands for.

"It clicked, it was a great relationship."

This Southeast Asian island-nation could be the next great hotbed of boxing talent.

"The Filipinos, believe it or not, they are very similar to the Mexican people in that they have a lot of pride, they love boxing," explains Gomez. "It was a great chemistry, we just clicked right off the bat and we started working with Bautista, Z Gorres and there's a whole bunch of other kids lined up and a lot of great talent in the Philippines."

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