It was another busy day for Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. Roach, one of the games most respected cornermen, was going through a routine day of preparing his fighters for upcoming bouts. But around 5:30 p.m. Roach started receiving phone calls from boxing people across the country to deliver the bad news. Legendary trainer Eddie Futch had passed away, peacefully, at the age of 90.

Futch is remembered for the 20 champions he helped mold -- names like Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, Alexis Arguello and Riddick Bowe. But it was his one singular act of not allowing Frazier to come out for the 15th and final round in his third bout against Muhammad Ali, that will endure.

He did the same thing for Roach by telling him at age 28 (a youngster in most professions) that it was time to hang'em up.

"I remember the day well," recalled Roach, from his gym. "He took me to his office and he told me he thought it was time for me to give it up. I cried a little bit. It was a very sad moment for me and I didn't take his advice and kept going. I should've taken that advice it looks like after all."

It ended a 10-year relationship as fighter and trainer which began when Roach moved out west.

"I moved out to Las Vegas and my dad was with me," recalled Roach. "We were looking for a trainer and someone to take care of me because my dad had to go home and take care of the family, so I met Eddie and my dad trusted him. He was a good guy with a good reputation and my dad left me in his hands."

They say that the best coaches and teachers, not only teach you the subject matter but teach lessons in life. Roach says Futch fit the bill. Roach knew back then, Futch was the exception to the rule, in contrast to many that inhabit the jungle that is boxing.

"You don't find anyone in boxing or in life, that can say something bad about Eddie Futch," Roach said. "He's a fair man, he's all business, he was a great role model for everybody."

Roach would retire later than Futch had asked him to, and without the game of boxing he would find it difficult to find a direction in his life. But Futch helped rescue Roach from his abyss.

"After I finally retired, Eddie asked me to be his assistant and so that's what I did," remembered Roach, who was working a construction job at the time. "I'd work my job and after work I'd go to the gym and help Eddie out with the fighters.

"My last year as a pro was Virgil Hill's first, so we knew each other a little bit, so I started helping him more. And Eddie, each fight, would give me more responsibilities. I remember it was a big deal when he allowed me to got to the rules meeting by myself. He groomed me along the way and then Virgil became our first world champion together. It was a great moment in my life."

Roach's apprenticeship under Futch worked well and lessons were learned, the most important being: let a fighter fight the way he knows how.

"He taught me to not change a fighter," stated Roach. "I see a lot of fighters become trainers and they try to make fighters fight like they did. They try to change a fighter. He told me to take a person's natural ability and work on that. Don't change a fighter, because as soon as the bell rings, they'll go back to what comes naturally to them."

Roach was also taught by Futch how to treat fighters and the game.

"He taught me to respect the sport and respect my fighters," said Roach. "A big thing was, don't ever let anybody take advantage of your fighters, that was one thing Eddie never let happen."

One of the trademarks of being a Roach-trained fighter is the lack of a contract. A handshake agreement is all he needed. It was the way he and Futch worked.

"That was it," said Roach. "That was my deal with Eddie, too. It was a handshake with Eddie. I never had a contract with him. He was my trainer for a good 10-years and a lot of Eddie has rubbed off on me. And I thank him for that."

Futch had retired four years ago, but was still a noted figure in the boxing world. Futch's birthday celebration was slated for Dec. 1st at Caesars Palace and many of the biggest names in boxing were sure to attend. Instead now, the boxing world will celebrate a great life. No regrets, just fond memories.

"Me and Eddie were friends to the end," said Roach. "He came to my premiere of the documentary they did about me. He came by himself from Vegas and I'm sure it wasn't easy for him to get to.

"It's sad to see him go, but he had a great run. He was a great guy."