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By Thomas Gerbasi - Long before Rolando Arellano became Victor Ortiz’ manager, he could see the potential in the young amateur boxer.
“You could see his basic fundamentals were there,” said Arellano of the fighter who went on to win 29 of 33 pro bouts and a WBC welterweight title, and who has earned a megafight in the form of Floyd Mayweather this Saturday in Las Vegas. “When you’ve been recruiting and looking at fighters for as long as I have, which in the eyes of some people is not long – like 20 years – you look for some very basic fundamentals. Do they have the heart, are they teachable? And when you see the foundation of a great structure and you know you can build on it and it’s easy to build on it and it doesn’t fight you with all kinds of crap in the street and interference from people like that, only great things can come from something that’s willing to be molded.”
Arellano pauses, but only for a split-second.
“This kid’s got the million dollar smile, he’s got the million dollar story, and I think he can fight like a million dollar fighter,” he continues. “And lo and behold it comes together and you have this magical symphony called “Vicious” Victor Ortiz September the 17th at the MGM Grand.”
Sounds like a boxing manager, right? But where Arellano strays from his peers is that while he is an indefatigable promoter of the fighters he represents, he is more than the guy with the megaphone saying everything that the athlete wants to hear. For one, Arellano is as blunt as it gets when it comes to the sport, the fighters, and his fellow managers. Next, he is as loyal as they come, but when he feels that his fighter has reached the end of the line, he is willing to leave money on the table to make a stand and do what’s right. Third, and this is where he really veers from the script – he actually cares. [Click Here To Read More]
“You could see his basic fundamentals were there,” said Arellano of the fighter who went on to win 29 of 33 pro bouts and a WBC welterweight title, and who has earned a megafight in the form of Floyd Mayweather this Saturday in Las Vegas. “When you’ve been recruiting and looking at fighters for as long as I have, which in the eyes of some people is not long – like 20 years – you look for some very basic fundamentals. Do they have the heart, are they teachable? And when you see the foundation of a great structure and you know you can build on it and it’s easy to build on it and it doesn’t fight you with all kinds of crap in the street and interference from people like that, only great things can come from something that’s willing to be molded.”
Arellano pauses, but only for a split-second.
“This kid’s got the million dollar smile, he’s got the million dollar story, and I think he can fight like a million dollar fighter,” he continues. “And lo and behold it comes together and you have this magical symphony called “Vicious” Victor Ortiz September the 17th at the MGM Grand.”
Sounds like a boxing manager, right? But where Arellano strays from his peers is that while he is an indefatigable promoter of the fighters he represents, he is more than the guy with the megaphone saying everything that the athlete wants to hear. For one, Arellano is as blunt as it gets when it comes to the sport, the fighters, and his fellow managers. Next, he is as loyal as they come, but when he feels that his fighter has reached the end of the line, he is willing to leave money on the table to make a stand and do what’s right. Third, and this is where he really veers from the script – he actually cares. [Click Here To Read More]
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