Whose Jersey Is That?

I was sitting at home and flipping channels tonight when I happened across Tosh.O. Most times, I just watch the first ten minutes of Daniel Tosh's show for the viral videos he presents, and then I move on to more entertaining fare. Tonight, though, I caught the episode where Daniel promised the audience that he was going to get punched in the face by Manny Pacquiao. I'm no boxing fan by any means, but seeing a rather scrawny comedian get punched by a legitimate boxing superstar sounded kind of funny. In saying this, I stuck with the program.

For all the build-up, here is the clip of Tosh get his brain scrambled by Pacquiao.

It wasn't the punch to the head or the goofy setup that Daniel performs that caught my attention. Just as I posted in the leading image up top, I was mesmerized by the framed "Roach" jersey on the wall. Whose jersey is that?

The first clue on the jersey that narrowed my search significantly was the IHL logo on the bottom hem. The IHL had a long history, but the jersey looked newer, so it would have to be from a more recent team. The only "Roach" that I could find after scouring the internet was Andy Roach who spent three seasons in the IHL with the San Antonio Dragons, the Long Beach Ice Dogs, and the Utah Grizzlies. The jersey on the wall doesn't belong to any of those teams, though, so I had to expand my search criteria.

Using my well-developed sense of deduction, I figured Daniel most likely filmed this segment at the gym that Manny Pacquiao calls home, and that led me to a man by the name of Freddie Roach!

Freddie Roach owns the Wild Card boxing gym in Hollywood, and he has a clientele list that has included and currently includes the likes of Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins, and Canadian UFC champion Georges St-Pierre among others! Among the Hollywood elite, Roach works with the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone, and Christian Bale for various movie roles and keeping them in great shape. In other words, he's kind of a big deal.

Roach, for those that aren't aware, was a helluva boxer himself, and is widely regarded as one of the elite boxing trainers of all-time. He was 40-13 in his career, and was known for his ability to take a barrage of punches and continue fighting. Unfortunately, the results of taking all those punches was his early onset of Parkinson's Disease, but Roach has endured the setback by continuing to train the elite boxers on the planet.

Roach grew up in the Southie neighborhood of Boston, and he noted in a BuzzFeed article by Joe DeLessio that "Roach's favorite player was Bobby Orr (no relation to Colton Orr) — 'He was everybody in Boston's favorite player,' says Roach — but he remembers appreciating the work of tough guy Wayne Cashman. Roach was never much of a hockey fighter himself, though: 'I wasn't that good on skates, so I'd have to take my skates off to fight.'"

That might explain the #4 jersey, but there was no explanation of what team it is or why Roach has it anywhere I could find on the internet. There's clearly a small plaque on the frame as seen in the Tosh video, but I can't seem to find any information about it anywhere. If anyone has any knowledge on this jersey at the Wild Card boxing club, I'm all ears!

At least we found out who the mystery "Roach" is, though!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!