Ortiz to put skills on display Saturday

In his preparation for Saturday's 147-pound fight with Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya brought in some tough guys to spar with at his Big Bear, Calif., training camp.

There were hard-hitting Edwin Valero and Freddie Tukes. There was the quick and slick Mookie Pendarvis.

And there was Victor Ortiz.

One of the rising stars in Golden Boy Promotions' stable of young fighters, Ortiz has speed and power. He will put his skills on display and his NABO junior welterweight title on the line Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden when he faces Jeffrey Resto.

He also had De La Hoya's attention during their camp. On Nov. 6, while preparing for the fight, Ortiz and De La Hoya were sparring when Ortiz caught De La Hoya with a big shot to the face that resulted in De La Hoya suffering a blackened right eye.

A few days later, Ortiz had left Big Bear. Officially, the De La Hoya camp claims Ortiz was homesick and had family matters to handle. The Pacquiao camp is convinced Ortiz was asked to leave because of what he had done to De La Hoya.

"I actually left on my own," Ortiz said. "I spent five weeks up there and it was time for me to go home and do my own thing.

"I was just there to work. I wasn't looking to cause any trouble or do any damage. It may have been Oscar was having a bad day that day when I got him."

Ortiz said he thinks De La Hoya will have a good fight Saturday against Pacquiao.

"I think Oscar should be able to pull it off," Ortiz said. "He looked very good to me while I was training with him.

"Honestly, I didn't think Oscar was as great as everyone said. But after working with him, he changed my mind. I can say he is still a great fighter."

Ortiz (22-1-1, 17 knockouts) has another battle on his hands at the moment besides Resto, who is 22-2 with 13 KOs. Ortiz and his management team of Shelly Finkel and Rolando Arellano are being sued by Top Rank's Bob Arum for breach of contract after Ortiz left Arum this year.

Ortiz used what Arum claims to be a legal loophole by declaring bankruptcy as a means to leave Top Rank.

"This is wrong," Arum said after challenging Ortiz while both were at the podium Thursday at the MGM Grand's media center to promote the undercard. "If we didn't pay him enough, if we didn't give him enough fights, OK. But we paid him $80,000 to fight (Carlos) Maussa on a pay-per-view card. For them to do what they did to us was wrong, and we're going to get them for it."

Finkel said it's just Arum being Arum.

"With Bob, you have to expect anything," Finkel said. "The fact is, he's lost every motion up to now, and when he loses his latest appeal, I'll have more to say on it.

"I think he was wrong to go public with this like he did, but Victor's not worried and neither am I."

Ortiz said it's nothing personal against Arum.

"I'm not getting in the middle of it," Ortiz said. "It's just business as far as I'm concerned. My focus is on Jeffrey Resto and Saturday. I let my managers worry about that other stuff."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.