Freddie Roach Lists 'Boxing's Best Shot at MMA' on HDNet's 'Inside MMA': Fan's Look (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

On HDNet's "Inside MMA", host Kenny Rice introduced Freddie Roach as "…the first big time boxing person to accept that there was MMA also out there in the world." and Andre Ward as a "…legend in the making. He's the WBC / WBA super middleweight champion, the last American [Olympic] gold medalist and the Fighter of the Year for "Ring" magazine."

Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao at the Pacquiao birthday Christmas party at J Lounge. Los Angeles, CA.
26 December 2008

Freddie said, "The thing is, a lot of people warned me not to like MMA. But a good fight's a good fight. I don't care what you call it. If it's MMA or boxing, I don't care what you call it. I like action. I like combat sports and if I can make someone a better fighter no matter what that area may be, that's my job. That's my passion in life. I want to bring out the best in people."

Freddie Roach's "Boxing's Best Shot at MMA"

Freddie Roach made his selections for who he thinks would have been good at MMA if they hadn't become famous boxers.

1. Manny Pacquiao

Freddie: "Pacquiao thinks he's Bruce Lee sometimes. He has great movement. He's never kick-boxed or anything like that before. His speed alone would really help him in the sport. He's got fast feet, fast hands. He can punch from both angles. He's really a complete fighter…I asked him one time about MMA, 'would you ever go into it?'. He says, 'no, those guys are crazy'."

2. Mike Tyson

Freddie: "Tyson has that square stance. He's constant movement and a great puncher, of course. He has huge, huge legs. If he could learn how to kick with those legs, he might be something."

3. Jake LaMotta

Robert DeNiro played boxer, Jake LaMotta, in the movie "Raging Bull".

Freddie: "When Jake was a fighter, he was the toughest guy in the world. He was a mean, mean, tough guy. I've heard stories…you know how mean he was in the movie? In real life, he was twice as mean."

4-5 Carmen Basilio and Gene Fullmer

Freddie: "They're brawlers, like street fighters. Obviously, technique is everything on the ground game and so forth. I know it's very, very complicated. I wrestled in high school."

Andre Ward did not make the list

HDNet host, Kenny Rice asked Andre Ward whether he was offended by not being listed by Freddie: "I probably thought about going into MMA for about two and a half seconds and that was it. These guys are on a whole 'nother level in terms of the tricks they have up their sleeves. As a competitor you think you can compete with anybody, right? It's not on top of my list to get in there."

A fan, Mike Denny, sent in a question via Facebook for Andre Ward to answer, "If you could get in the cage with MMA rules, against any boxer, who would it be?"

Andre answered, "Carl Froch," because he talked too much before the fight and then he talked too much after the fight, "…even after I got the victory he still didn't want to give me credit."

Another fan, Marc Kaplan, had a great question for Andre Ward, "How many rounds would Nick Diaz last against you in your world?"

Andre's response: "That's a tough question. I don't know how many rounds Nick would last. But I know he would be prepared to hang in there and go the distance. I'd have to be well-prepared. He's not a guy you take lightly."

As far as Freddie's list goes, I think if Manny Pacquiao had started out training in MMA instead of boxing, he would be a scary good MMA fighter. I wonder if training in multiple combat skills would have given Jake LaMotta a way to manage his violent tendencies outside of the ring. It's interesting to think about alternate paths a fighter might have taken. Mike Tyson, with his square, blocky build, might have trouble with his ground game. He doesn't look very flexible. But his kicking game could be deadly.

Team Roach MMA (list presented by "Inside MMA")

The following MMA fighters have trained with Freddie Roach.

- Anderson Silva

- Andrei Arlovski

- BJ Penn

- Caol Uno

- Dan Hardy

- Dan Henderson

- Georges St. Pierre

- KJ Noons

- Thierry Sokoudjou

- Roger Huerta

- Tito Ortiz

Source: "Inside MMA" on HDNet, March 26, 2012

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Cheryl Ragsdale started out boxing and has added kicks and BJJ so she can practice MMA. She trains with Keith Florian and UFC Fighter Kenny Florian at Florian Martial Arts - follow @thatgirlisfunny

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