By Ryan Maquiñana

Manager Rolando Arellano commented on the recent news that he was filing for arbitration with the California State Athletic Commission regarding his fighter Victor Ortiz’s refusal to pay him following an upset loss to Josesito Lopez on July 23 in Los Angeles.

“We haven’t been given a date yet for the arbitration hearing, but I believe it should be in the next couple of weeks,” Arellano told BoxingScene.com Monday afternoon.  “We have documents, and I think we will succeed.  The evidence will show I did nothing wrong.”

Arellano’s attorney Bruce Zabarauskas said they are seeking 24 percent of Ortiz’s $800,000 purse, which comes out to $192,000, in addition to legal expenses.

Zabarauskas argues that unbeknownst to Arellano, his manager’s license had expired; Ortiz, having supposedly known about the expired license beforehand, used that reason to withhold payment.

“There is a specific provision of the commission's code which provides that if the manager's license is no longer valid for any reason then the contract becomes null and void after receiving notice from the commission,” Zabarauskas told Ring Magazine’s Lem Satterfield.

“But Rolando had never received any notice from the commission that his license had expired, and it's my understanding that the commission doesn't send out renewal notices on their licenses,” Zabarauskas added.

Since the ninth-round stoppage defeat, Ortiz has been recovering from a broken jaw while also ending his business relationship with trainer Danny Garcia.  While Arellano hasn’t quite terminated affairs with Ortiz, he was disturbed with his fighter’s decision.

“I’m f—ing hurt, to be honest, with everything I’ve been through with him,” Arellano said.  “This is someone that I cared for a lot, and still care for and love.  I wish I knew why he did this.  I’m dumbfounded.”

Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly boxing column for CSNBayArea.com.  He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.