Manny Pacquiao losing to Yordenis Ugas left a trail of destruction at the Wild Card Gym in the fallout of last month’s shocking events in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao went down on points to Ugas in a welterweight battle arranged at the last minute following an injury to Errol Spence Jr.
Discussions on a rematch came and went very quickly in the aftermath. Pacquiao, since then, has led more towards retirement.
But coaches Freddie Roach and Justine Fortune, once firm friends at the Los Angeles base, are no longer on speaking terms.
Roach seemingly laid some blame at Fortune’s door for the manner of Pacquiao’s training at the age of 42, and the Aussie didn’t take kindly to those words.
Fortune will now focus on his own gym a short distance from Roach’s after confirming their split.
“Mark my words, I’ll never work with Freddie again,” Fortune told the Philippine Star.
“He accused me of Manny’s loss to cover up his own inadequacies and didn’t do it to my face.
“Freddie made stupid statements, not even factual, about Manny running the hills at Griffith Park six days a week,” he added.
Subsequently complaining of cramps during the fight, Pacquiao’s preparations got called into question. Something Fortune agreed with when deflecting any blame.
“That’s a perfect formula to get cramps right away. It’s exactly what happened,” Fortune pointed out.
MANNY PACQUIAO OPPONENT
Meanwhile, opponent Ugas has himself had some deflecting to do on social media. The Cuban once again came up against criticism despite the best victory of his career.
Fans accused Ugas of milking his triumph too much.
“I’m going to talk about the fight my whole damn life,” he blasted. “Until I decide!
“I’m still thinking about the fight, not because it was Pacquiao, but because there is a lot of sacrifices, work, discipline, and dedication that one puts into this.
“The one who doesn’t like to leave here. I put up with people like you saying Pacquiao would destroy me!
“In my victory, I gave Pacquiao my respect. I won the fight so I could talk all I want. Have a good day,” concluded the former Olympian.
