The other night I was talking to a kind I used to train (he is 32 now, has a daughter and owns two homes), and I think he used to spar with lopez. Neither of us can remember for sure (though I know he did spar several times with a guy that is currently 27-5 as a pro, having lost to Guzman a couple fights back). All that aside, it would be a really good thing if Lopez won, and I think some collective good will might help. Not to take sides, just that Lopez go out, fight his fight, and let his hands go.
I spent a lot of time in the gyms in Riverside (Calif.), and every story I tell of boxing treachery, I learned in those same gyms. But they were good times, and the guy that originally trained lopez was a very good man. I met him at the Forum, the same night I met Azumah Nelson. He was working with Yori Campos at the time and Yori tried to charge me $5 to shake his hand. This was just after the Trinidad fight, and I was amazed that Campos was still ambulatory. The trainer and I sat next to one another and talked through the card, and he invited me out to the gym where he trained his fighters in Riverside.
A lot of fond memories, and it would be good if Lopez stopped Ortiz.
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