To state that Freddie Roach has come a long way qualifies as a glaring understatement.

When I first met him at the beginning of 1995 he was struggling to establish himself as a trainer after retiring from a creditable, if not outstanding, career as a lightweight contender.

He was living in two rooms in the back of his first gym in Hollywood and Highland, yet despite the struggle the smile of someone who was doing what he loved never left his face.

The gym was called the Outlaws Boxing Club and it was home to a colourful cast of characters.

It was my introduction to the sport on a serious level and I’ll never forget the three months I spent there.

I had my first ever sparring session at Outlaws. Freddie matched me against a guy at the gym called Herb, whose biceps looked like cannonballs, ran half marathons for fun and knew his way around a boxing ring.

I didn’t sleep the entire night before, convinced I was facing my doom the next morning.

Herb, as expected, punched me all over the ring. He did so numerous times after that, until the punches didn’t hurt as much and I actually started to enjoy it.

Fast forward to 2000 and the day I walked into the Wildcard Boxing Gym on Hollywood and Vine to find Freddie’s fortunes much improved.

Now he was a respected trainer, his new gym filled with world champions and contenders sparring and preparing for upcoming fights.

I spent five years there and have great memories of the atmosphere and truly international flavour of a tiny, sweat-filled part of Hollywood where you’d find guys from Africa, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Russia, from all over the world, training alongside each other.

It was a special time.

Today Wildcard is home to Manny Pacquiao, whom Roach is currently preparing for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jnr in Vegas on May 2.

Yes, without a doubt, Roach has come a long way since I first met him in 1995.

I’m looking forward to meeting him again, as I’m about to fly out to LA to get reacquainted with Wildcard and with Freddie, bringing you a taste of the build-up and atmosphere in the lead up to one of the most anticipated fights in the history of the sport.