THE Justine Fortune defection is deeper than most think it is, after the former Freddie Roach understudy fired away vitriolic statements at Roach in an interview that appeared on a boxing website Thursday.
Fortune and Roach, the tandem that helped to hone Manny Pacquiao into arguably the most devastating slugger of his time, were in the middle of a stalemate around the time Roach was away from their headquarters at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
Roach was back in California for the first time during the weekend after spending weeks in Puerto Rico where he trained with Oscar de la Hoya.
“I left the Wild Card,” Fortune told www.maxboxing.com Wednesday. “Just some disputes with me and Freddie and it’s time for me to move on. I want to train my own fighters.”
Money and alliances are apparently what caused the breakup.
According to Roach, only half of the training fee worth $200,000 was intended to be paid to Fortune. But it was Fortune’s name, not Roach’s, that was signed on the contract.
The website reported that Roach is suing Fortune for the money.
Israel Vazquez, a former Pacquiao sparmate who was recently dethroned as junior-featherweight champion, is the first top-tier Roach talent to hook up with Fortune.
“[Freddie] believes he deserves half for not training him and leaving to train Oscar,” said Fortune, who trained Pacquiao full-time in the Pacquiao-Jorge Solis fight last month.
“I don’t believe he deserves half. And I have the check.”
Roach said he thought cold blood between him and Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s current promoter, may have spilled over to his relationship with Fortune.
“The thing is, Bob’s telling Justin that I’m keeping him in the shadows and he’s a better trainer than me,” Roach said in the same interview. “He told me he wanted to go on his own but he wanted to go on his own with me. He’d just have his own fighters. [And] that would be great.”
Fortune also admitted that he didn’t like how he was being credited for his role in the Wild Card.
“I got labeled with that tag, strength and conditioning coach,” he said. “‘He’s not a trainer, he’s just a strength and conditioning coach.’ [Expletive] that. I’m more than that. I’ve done far more.”
“I’m a really good trainer and a strength and conditioning coach and a nutritionist. I’m a lot more,” Fortune added.
Steve Kim, the writer of the article, asked Fortune if he felt Roach “took him for granted.”
“Sometimes,” Fortune replied, “but I don’t really look at it like that. So it doesn’t bother me.”
Roach returned to Hollywood to begin training Bobby Pacquiao for his June 9 date with Humberto Soto.
Roach is also close to making a deal with former world champion Bernard Hopkins, who is coming out of retirement to face Winky Wright in July.
Meanwhile, Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista and AJ “Bazooka” Banal flew in at about 5 a.m. yesterday aboard a Philippine Airlines plane from Los Angeles.
Bautista and Banal were greeted with resounding applause by a nation hungry for real heroes while going down the escalator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal Two.
The duo, who was accompanied by officials of the Philippine Sports Commission, was visibly touched by the crowd. –With Recto Mercene
