Looking for hope and seeing some in HBO’s film: On Freddie Roach

Optimism is hard to find these days. Dumpster-diving is easier. From embarrassing talks about a fight still in never-never land to cancellations and hollow controversies, there’s just a lot of garbage beneath the headlines. But there is some good news. Really, there is.

Just when it looks as if the rot will finally bury the business, along comes a film that reminds us of its resiliency. It is about surviving and that’s what Freddie Roach does, day-to-day, in a compelling mix of grit and common decency in HBO’s six-part portrayal, On Freddie Roach, which begins Friday (9:30 p.m. ET/PT).

It starts with Roach training for his victory over Zab Judah. There is none of the hyper-active hyperbole that has become the tone of HBO’s 24/7. Instead, it’s is about an ordinary guy confronted by extraordinary challenges. If you ever wonder why survives, there it is. Much has been said and written about Roach’s advancing struggle with Parkinson’s.

With shots of Roach’s shaking hands and arms, however, filmmaker Peter Berg’s documentary reminds us that it is more than a good story. It’s every day. Roach has often said he wouldn’t know what to do without his work at his Wild Card Gym, without a schedule that takes him from ’s corner, to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., to the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, to Khan and so many others. In the hard work, Roach defines himself and forgets about the terrible disease.

Roach’s unflinching honesty is there for Berg’s cameras, seemingly from dawn to dusk and even when Roach falls asleep. It’s been called reality television, whatever that is. It’s not. It’s a lesson about life. Watch it, and you’ll see why the business fights on.

Headlines & Counters News item: Sergio Martinez at a catch weight has emerged as an opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr. if talks (insert your own joke here) for a fight in May with Pacquiao continue to fail. Reaction: Martinez at 150 pounds is a tougher opponent for Mayweather than Pacquiao.

News item: The so-called mystery man, Mustafa Ameen, tells the BBC that, yes, he did tell WBA supervisor Michael Welsh to correct his scorecard in the controversial decision that went against Khan in his loss to Lamont Peterson in Washington, D.C. Reaction: How and why was Ameen allowed to approach the judge? Welsh should be banned from judging, Ameen should be banned from ringside and the D.C. Boxing & Wrestling Commission should be subjected to a federal investigation.

AZ NOTES Sergei Liakhovich’s anger at Eddie Chambers for his late withdrawal from Saturday’s NBC debut of a boxing series because of fractured ribs is fair and understandable. Chambers wasted everybody’s time and money. For Liakhovich, it was just the latest in an unending string of misfortune that started with his 2006 knockout loss to Shannon Briggs in a ring above the infield at the Arizona Diamondbacks home park in Phoenix.

In an interview a few days before Chambers abruptly forced the cancellation of their bout, Liakhovich, a Scottsdale resident, talked about renewed hopes.

Retirement was never a consideration, said the one time champ, who said a fractured nose in a loss to in August left him choking on his own blood.

He refused to look past Chambers. Now, he has to. He says he wants to fight Chris Arreola. Here’s hoping he gets a shot.