Earning a reputation as one of the sport’s top trainers comes with a price.
True, Freddie Roach likely will be paid handsomely to train Oscar De La Hoya for a mega fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5. But Roach also could be dealing with a costlier ordeal unrelated to the attention of working De La Hoya’s corner.
Before De La Hoya approached him to replace Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roach already anticipated a busy spring of preparing fighters. Now those fighters won’t have Roach’s undivided attention.
Roach was in the initial stages of setting up Peter Manfredo Jr.’s strategy for a fight April 7 against Joe Calzaghe.
Immediately after the Manfredo-Calzaghe fight, Roach would redirect his focus to his most successful fighter, Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is considered one of the sport’s most exciting fighters and is enjoying rock-star status in his native Philippines. He is targeting his next fight for late April.
But De La Hoya likely will take precedence for Roach. Soon, Roach will depart from his Los Angeles training base to work De La Hoya’s camp in Puerto Rico.
Before he meets De La Hoya in camp, Roach likely will accompany De La Hoya during an 11-city promotional tour to hype the bout.
Meanwhile, Manfredo, Pacquiao and other fighters trained by Roach, such as former featherweight champion Robert Guerrero and World Boxing Council super-bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez, will be left to work with Roach’s assistant, Justin Fortune.
Roach does not anticipate animosity from his other fighters because De La Hoya is taking up much of his attention.
“They are all happy for me,” Roach said in a conference call last week. “The thing is, this is not a one-man show in my gym. I have assistants and they will take care of the boys.
“The fighters understand that and they are all professionals. I sat down and spoke with them. There is no problem at this point.”
Pacquiao could emerge as a pay-per-view attraction following his exciting victories against Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. Would Pacquiao feel slighted that his trainer has made De La Hoya a priority?
“Pacquiao congratulated me,” Roach said.
“I will be with Manny until I leave for Puerto Rico. When I leave for Puerto Rico to be with Oscar, Justin will be in charge.”
After weeks of uncertainty about whether Mayweather Sr. would train De La Hoya to fight his Mayweather Jr., De La Hoya finally opted for Roach.
De La Hoya said the only other trainer he considered to replace Mayweather was Ignacio Beristain of Mexico.
“Through the years, I have had different trainers,” De La Hoya said in the conference call that featured Roach.
“Freddie brings a different style, but I still have the desire to learn more.”
SUPER-FLYWEIGHT BOUT
All Star Boxing will present its first card of the year Feb. 23 at Miccosukee Indian Gaming. Mexico’s Cecilio Santos and Colombia’s Luis Melendez fight for a regional super-flyweight title in the main event of the seven-bout show.
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., a son of the three-time world champion, will fight in the undercard, his second bout since turning professional last December.
DAWSON, DIAZ WIN
Chad Dawson removed his challenger’s tag while Julio Diaz became an outright champion with victories Saturday night in Kissimmee, Fla.
Dawson won the WBC light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Tomasz Adamek.
After building an early lead, Dawson (23-0) overcame a strong rally from the champion in the final three rounds, including a knockdown in the 10th.
Unable to finish Dawson, Adamek (31-1) fell short on all three judges’ scorecards, 116-110, 117-109 and 118-108.
Diaz, who was the International Boxing Federation interim lightweight champion during Jesus Chavez’s 17-month ring absence, won the outright title with a knockout over Chavez 22 seconds into the third round.
Chavez fell to the canvas after his right knee buckled, and referee Frank Santore counted him out.
Chavez (43-4) was fighting for the first time since winning the IBF title in September 2005 against Leavander Johnson.
As Chavez rehabilitated from a shoulder injury, Diaz (34-3, 25 KOs) was declared interim champion following a decision over Fort Lauderdale resident Ricky Quiles in May.
In another bout, Cory Spinks retained his IBF junior-middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Rodney Jones.
