If you’ve ever watched an episode of HBO’s 24/7, where a television crew follows the lives and training regimen of elite boxers before their fights, you should know the level of craziness that happens. From the media frenzy to the fan following, to the day-and-night training, the life of a superstar boxer is probably how you would imagine it and interpret through the television screen.
In the case of Manny “Pac-man” Pacquiao, his boxing life includes bringing along an entourage of assistant trainers, cooks, and of course, countless of friends — sometimes even his wife, Jinkee. His boxing life is a little different than other boxers because, on top of the inherent madness, he travels from the mean streets of General Santos City, Philippines, to the mean streets of L.A. According to many, he prefers this rough and tumble world, feeling more comfortable in a setting where everyone is watching.
It’s all evident in his preferred training location.
On the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Vine St., on the outskirts of glamourous Hollywood Blvd, there’s a gym located as part of a strip mall that hold retail shops, a Thai restaurant, and a laundromat. It’s a gym better known as Wild Card Gym. The National Fist recently visited the gym to see what it’s like before the hurricane, better known as Manny, hits the training room floor.
The gym’s parking lot is small, capable of holding approximately 15 cars at best. We were the unlucky ones and were forced to park next to the trash bin. The first sign of boxing life will ring inside your eardrums. Above the ambient traffic noise of Vine St. and Santa Monica Blvd., is the rhythmic beat of a boxing glove hitting a speed bag. The sound carries over to the streets where you can see puzzled faces of passersby attempting to figure out the sound, and where you’ll also see those who know the sound too well, as if it were a part of the corner landscape.
We entered the gym through a set of stairs that angles up to the door. The immediate ringing of the gloves and bags become louder, and the familiar smell of locker room permeate the air. To the left is the counter, where on this day, Freddie Roach sat overlooking the tiny gym filled with prospective boxers, gym rats, and the like. There is one ring, a couple of heavy bags and speed bags, no more than five chairs, and plenty of exercise space.
It was hard to imagine at that point how crazy and packed it would be once the pound-for-pound champion enters the same doors. One thing is for certain, though, the doors are always welcoming. Everyone, from the shop manager to the boxers to even Freddie himself, was courteous, helpful, and downright nice. It was humility at its best, and it’ll help change your view of a boxing gym if you even had a perception of it as grimy and savage.
We were given a tour around the gym and was shown an adjacent room that was apparently made just for Manny’s workout. It’s an enclosed space with an extra ring and more boxing equipment. Apparently, Manny hates this room and prefers to work out in the main floor, where everybody trains. The walls are lined with photos, images of the gym’s past before your eyes, of familiar faces that include actors, boxers, and Manny are everywhere.
We ended up talking with Freddie about the Miguel Cotto fight. The main concern was where Manny will train since the IRS will severely penalize him for training too much on US soil, citing that they will tax his entire income even if it was made outside the US. The places of interest were Vancouver, Mexico, and the Bahamas. But we also talked about everyday things and that was probably more suitable on that particularly quiet day, especially before hurricane Manny hits.
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Damn that IRS. That includes BIR too. hehe.
Train in the Philippines. Show your people how hard you train. That alone will bring more respect amongst the crowds. However that’ll mean more armed guards in every direction you turn to. Y does everyone want a piece of the champ?
Sweet! Is this photoshopped?? :p You should have taken me so I can film your interview!
[...] Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym [...]
Wanted to thank Marie @ Wild Card for the old school Freddie Roach “It Ain’t Easy” t-shirts. And to Michelle for driving up from Santa Monica to Hollywood to pick them up. If they are able to keep the distractions at a real minimum then I guess it would be okay to train up in Baguio. The air is nice and cool there and there’s some really good hills to do his roadwork. But if it gets to be a petting zoo then by all means I think going with Coach Freddie’s wishes to Toluca would be the best thing.
do your best in your fight pilipino people are true strong among them all..
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