Unbeaten welterweight puncher Vergil Ortiz will remember his former trainer Gene Vivero when he faces ex-world champion Maurice Hooker at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, tonight.
Vivero passed away aged 71 last month, but was a mainstay of Ortiz’s early boxing career, instilling toughness in the young Texan alongside then gym-mate Errol Spence at the Vivero Boxing Gym in south west Dallas.
Ortiz (16-0, 16 KOs) turned pro with esteemed trainer Robert Garcia, but always retained a close bond with Vivero who used to take him to local boxing shows in Dallas and Fort Worth in his formative years as a fighter.
Vivero paved the way for Ortiz’s future success and his passing was a solemn milestone in the run-up to Saturday’s crunch fight with former WBO 140lbs champion and fellow Texan Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs).
“It’s still a lot to process,” Ortiz told ESPN.com. “He’s been there for most of my boxing career. He’s taught me a lot of things in and outside of the ring.
“He would pay for my food [at boxing shows] and he would drop me right back off. He would take me to professional fights to get used to the scene and all that. I’m telling you, he did a lot.
“Even if a little kid doesn’t have it [that toughness], you can still put it in them. I feel like I had it and they just instilled more of that inside me. Errol as well. He’s a tough motherfucker. He’s not a pushover at all. I think that’s where we get it from.
“[Former trainer Vivero] would tell me not to be sad and keep working hard and take care of this fight. That’s what he would want most of all, so that’s what I’m doing.”
