It’s no secret that 2012 was a rough year for Victor Ortiz. Likewise, 2012 was not very kind to Freddie Roach, one of boxing’s best and renowned trainers. Ortiz is coming off back to back losses to Floyd Mayweather and Josesito Lopez. Consequently, he only fought once in 2012 and is still recovering from a second jaw surgery from the injury sustained in the Lopez fight. Ortiz is looking to bounce back later this year, as is Freddie Roach and his stable of fighters.
In 2012, Roach saw his thoroughbred in Manny Pacquiao suffer back to back losses. First, there was the controversial loss to undefeated Timothy Bradley and then the devastating knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. To further demise the year for Roach and his fighters, he watched a lazy Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. get outclassed for 11 out of 12 rounds against middleweight kingpin Sergio Martinez; Chavez later tested positive for use of marijuana and is serving a suspension. Adding more salt to the wound for the Wild Card Boxing Club, Amir Khan suffered a stunning knockout loss to current and undefeated light welterweight champion Danny Garcia.
Based on the aforementioned series of unfortunate events, it is no surprise that Roach is looking for a motivated fighter to add to his stable, which is now without the service of Amir Kahn; Chavez Jr. is resolving his suspension; and Pacquiao’s career is in limbo. Hence, Victor Ortiz makes sense given his need for a trainer and his motivation to overcome his most recent loss and injury.
Ortiz was recently seen at the Wild Card Boxing Club training with Roach for a couple days, and Roach has expressed some interest in the still young and talented Ortiz. Roach was coaching him on mechanics and flaws he has seen in the fighter. That said, with Ortiz’ need for a relevant trainer as well as the desire to prove to fans he is not a quitter and still viable to get back to a championship level of boxing, a partnership with Freddie Roach may be a perfect fit.
Ortiz is no stranger to Freddie Roach or the Wild Card Boxing Club. Roach has indicated that a younger Victor Ortiz was a sparring partner for Manny Paquiao on more than one occasion. Rumor has it, those sessions were pretty intense. There is no doubt that Ortiz is a phenomenal talent; however, he has holes in his defense and far too often loses fights in his head before they are over. Can Roach help Victor Ortiz to overcome his flaws in the ring, and back to a world championship? I hope so. It’s far too unfortunate when you see young talent go to waste (see Fernando Vargas). Will it be new beginnings for Roach and Ortiz? My hunch is yes, and my guess is we will see the results later this summer or early fall given Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer has pointed towards a fight in September for Ortiz.