Roach was trained by his father Paul Roach at a young age along with his brothers Joey and Pepper. In an interview with Dan Patrick on the AUDIENCE channel, Roach disclosed that throughout his youth, he was involved in over 300 street fights. Fearing for his own safety in one fight, he claims to have bitten another man's eye out in self-defense.
As a teenager, he was a dominant force in the New England amateur and AAU ranks. Roach turned pro in 1978, fighting as a lightweight and won his first 10 bouts. Roach trained under Eddie Futch and went 26–1 before appearing in a historic match at the Boston Garden on June 11, 1982. The card that night was the first of two times that all three Fighting Roach Brothers appeared at the same time. Brothers Joey and Pepper won their undercard bouts but in the main event, Freddie lost a unanimous decision to Rafael Lopez. Freddie would rebound and go on to contend twice for regional championships.
Late in his career, Roach, who was known for being able to take on a barrage of punches, began showing early signs of Parkinson's disease. Futch asked Roach to retire but the boxer refused and continued to fight with his father as his trainer. He went on to lose five of his last six fights before retiring at age 26. His best payday was $7,500.

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