I just received my advance copy of the February The Ring Magazine with my image of Manny on the cover. Thanks to The Ring and of course Manny and Freddie!
I spent a few days shooting Amir at the Wild Card. He is so grounded it is hard to believe how young he is. He already has that incredible focus. Freddie believes in him. He thinks he is his next big fighter coming up, and Freddie knows fighters. The first day I watched him spar his sparring partner was on the mat looking stunned in the second frame I shot. He had no idea what had hit him and how he had gotten there so fast. 
Amir has no ego, it is work and fun. I love watching these guys smiling through their training, enjoying the process. Amir’s next big fight is in the UK June 27th. A big thank you to Freddie, Amir and his Dad Shah for letting me hang out and photograph him.
I am not sure why, but I love to watch some ones hands being wrapped. I am not sure if it is the intimacy of it, or the zen moment, but it fascinates me. Watching Freddie Roach get his tape ready and the care that he takes with each hand is a pleasure. Watching MMA guys wrap is a different process, there is no gauze. Everyone has their own colours and tape, in their unique ritual. Some boxers use gaffer tape or electric tape. How do you decide how you will have your hands wrapped? One trainer who boxed for years told me the story of how he was late to arrive at a boxing match so they wrapped his hands in a hurry and badly. During the match he felt his hands breaking, but kept fighting through the pain. By the end he couldn’t even feel his hands striking. He won, but both hands were broken. He only tried to fight one time after they had healed. The bad wrapping ended his career. So the ritual, is incredibly important.
Ok, I am smitten. Smitten by the Wild Card Boxing Gym and the people who inhabit it. The international boxing talent that train in this small gym in the middle of Hollywood is amazing. I was there two days this week shooting English boxer Amir Khan. While I was there Andrei Arlovski was there sparring in preparation for his next MMA fight. There were boxers from Scotland, Kenya, you name it. Freddie Roach is the quiet presence that every one flocks to. He is somehow still grounded and ego free. He just went to Vegas to accept his giant Trainer of the Year award and trophy. Since he hates trophies..he left it on the bus, and they will mail it to him. His assistant trainer heavy weight champion Michael Moorer is working with Arlovski while Freddie concentrates on Amir who is amazing already at only 18 years old. The first day I was there his sparring partner was on the mat looking stunned after the first two minutes, trying to figure out how he got there. There is a quiet intensity to everyone in the Wild Card. 
The Wild Card parking lot and being yelled at by the woman who runs the laundry downstairs is considered a rite of passage. I had some amazing conversations with trainers who have given me such great insight into boxing and boxers. Pictured Scottish Boxer Gary Young.
No ones hands should move this fast. No ones arms should be able to hit the bag like that, for as long as he does. Manny Pacquiao is at the top of his game. I was lucky enough to be able to shoot Manny and Freddie training together in preperation for the big Hatton fight. These two men who train at such an elite level, truly love what they do. Freddie puts on his gear and his eyes sparkle. Manny smiles as he is going beyond what seems humanly possible to do. They play with each other in the ring, while pushing to extreme levels. I knew he would beat Ricky Hatton in the fight. No one could match his speed and striking right now. I was granted a portrait session with Manny after he was done training. I was so grateful to Manny, Freddie, Michael and Rob who all made it happen.
I first met Freddie Roach when I went to his Wild Card Gym to photograph MMA fighter Andrei Arlovski. Freddie was the boxing coach on Andrei’s dream team. I was taken by many aspects of Freddie. He is not what you would expect for the trainer to champions like Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson and Oscar de la Hoya. Freddie is a small quiet man with his black rimmed glasses. He got in the ring to train Andrei and became a focused laser to get his fighter to punch harder and not hesitate for a second. I knew I wanted to do a portrait of Freddie. I love the back wall in his gym, the private place where fighters train. It is tagged with Wild Card in great graphics. I knew that first day I would shoot him on that wall. The Wild Card is a classic old school boxing gym. The walls are covered in famous fighters photos, boxing gloves hang all along one wall…it’s classic right down to the smell that hits you when you enter…sweat and determination in equal parts. Freddie is charming and sweet and gave us Wild Card T shirts when we left. We will wear them proudly!
