Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan trainer Freddie Roach fired by Guillermo Rigondeaux
For most fighters, getting a chance to work with trainer Freddie Roach is a dream come true. After all, there is probably no trainer currently working who is more respected and admired within the sport of boxing, as evidence by the fact that he will be receiving the “Trainer of the Year” award from the Boxing Writers Association of America later this month. Certainly, fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan credit Roach with helping to rejuvenate their careers or take them to the next level.
However, that’s not the case with undefeated super bantamweight prospect Guillermo Rigondeaux. The former Cuban two-time Olympic gold medalist recently told BoxingScene.com that he has severed ties with Roach and is now training with Alejandro Torre, who has worked with champions such as Daniel Santos, Juan Urango and Juan Carlos Gomez in the past. Rigondeaux said that while Roach is a “great manager,” things between him and Roach didn’t work because the trainer had too many other fighters and obligations and wasn’t able to spend enough one-on-one time working with him. He feels as though Torre can devote more time and energy to his cause and make his career development a primary focus.
Of course, as is usual with boxing, there is more going on with Rigondeaux’s career than just a split with his trainer. Rigondeaux is currently locked in a tense legal battle with his current manager Gary Hyde. In December 2009, Hyde won a court battle for the right to continue to manage Rigondeaux, despite the fact that the fighter is clearly unhappy with his services. Hyde put out a press release earlier this week touting a recent legal ruling “affirming” his control over Rigondeaux’s career and highlighting the positives of Rigondeaux’s time working with Roach. For his part, Rigondeaux believes that Hyde might be trying to pressure him to return to working with Roach as part of a “handshake” deal between the two.
Things fell apart between Rigondeaux and Hyde after the Cuban boxer defected to the United States via Mexico in early 2009. The Irish-born Hyde had apparently worked out a deal to help Rigondeaux and his family defect while becoming his manager when he became a professional. However, Rigondeaux wound up in Miami and decided that he would prefer to be managed by Ahmet Oener, who has also worked with several Cuban boxing defectors including Odlanier Solis, Yan Barthelemy and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Hyde claimed that this was a breach of contract and moved to regain control of Rigondeaux’s career.
However, Rigondeaux claims that Hyde is doing more harm to his career than good. Specifically, he is claiming that Hyde is attempting to stop him from fighting on ESPN on June 4 in a headlining bout against Reynaldo Lopez. As Rigondeaux pointed out to BoxingScene.com, he is already 29 and does not as much time waste between fights as other prospects have. Each delay costs Rigondeaux valuable time in the ring - and a chance to get closer to the world title shot that he wants.
That world title shot might come soon for Rigondeaux. It has been reported that he is a leading candidate to contend for the interim WBA super bantamweight title this August, potentially against Ricardo Cordoba. However, Rigondeaux is claiming the Hyde’s legal wrangling is not only putting his fight against Lopez in jeopardy but also his potential world title shot.
This certainly wasn’t what Rigondeaux had in mind when he made the journey from Cuba in 2009. It was actually his second attempt at fleeing Cuba - the first came in 2007 when he and teammate Erislandy Lara attempted to defect while competing at the Pan American Games in Brazil. However, they were later caught and return to Cuba. Dictator Fidel Castro banned them from competing for the Cuban National Boxing team after their defection attempt, costing Rigondeaux the chance to earn his third consecutive gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Tags: