Freddie Roach would like to work with Victor Ortiz for his next fight.
Following his disappointing loss to Josesito Lopez this past June, Ortiz elected to split with trainer Danny Garcia. Although he was unable to go all out because of a pair of surgeries needed to fix a fractured jaw suffered during that bout, he still has managed to keep himself in shape. He was recently spotted alongside Freddie Roach inside the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles.
Despite the two being seen together, Roach says that nothing has been made official.
“Victor’s a great talent, great kid,” Roach stated to Chris Robinson of HustleBoss.com. “We did two days together. They haven’t made their mind up yet on who they are going to choose yet. We had a lot of fun. He’s a great kid and I wish him the best.”
Freddie Roach and Victor Ortiz are familiar with what each brings to the table, since they have been in the same gym previously. During his early years in the game, Ortiz sparred Roach’s most famous fighter, Manny Pacquiao, on multiple occasions.
“He’s seen me work many times,” Roach said of Ortiz. “He used to come to my gym and box with Manny Pacquiao quite a bit earlier in his career. Some of the best sparring sessions I’ve ever seen in my life. Some great wars.”
Despite what seems to be only a matter of time before it is made official, Roach still doesn’t want to talk too much about the future before any decision is made.
“The thing is right now, they haven’t made a decision yet, so I really can’t expect anything now,” said Roach. “I think I helped him with some of his mistakes he was making and he was very happy about what I was showing him. Hopefully it will all come together.”
If the two end up together, it would signal a small turn in fortunes for Roach. During the past year, he has seen many of his fighters taste high profile defeats, including Manny Pacquiao two times. Several of them have opted to look for training elsewhere following those losses. Time will tell if Roach and Victor Ortiz get together and help each other right the ships in their respective careers.
