Arlovski’s Diplomacy Overrides Disappointment

LOS ANGELES -- The walls of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym are plastered from floor to ceiling with boxers. The history of the sport is woven into the balance of fight posters and publicity shots, from the defiant gaze of Muhammad Ali to the flagrant showmanship of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Andrei Arlovski’s mug also stares out from the distinguished walls of the 14-year-old pugilistic landmark. Though the Belarusian has yet to step into a professional boxing ring, his two-year relationship with the iconic trainer has earned him his spot in Roach’s sentimental collage.

Today, Arlovski is sparring in the ring with Roach. The 29-year-old’s athletic 6-foot-4 frame dips lithely under his much shorter coach’s mitts, and his feet re-set in patterns unfamiliar to anyone outside the pair. The gym is teaming with sweaty boxers of all shapes and sizes, who fend off exhaustion in the balmy 100-degree setting as they pulverize hanging bags like slabs of meat. In their individual dances, many of them can’t help but sneak a glance at Arlovski, who is entranced by Roach’s quiet, but intense instruction. They might not know exactly who the bearded fighter is, but they sense he’s somebody just the same.

“I think I can get him to a championship fight,” coos Roach to no one in particular as Arlovski peels off another combination with impressive speed and accuracy.

Arlovski has a passion for boxing. Roach wouldn’t train him otherwise. A former boxer himself, Roach is currently working with eight top-level boxers all en route to championship bids, including Manny Pacquiao, who will face Oscar De La Hoya on Dec. 6 in the sport’s last hoorah of the year. Arlovski is the first and only mixed martial artist Roach has agreed to coach on a regular basis, and he has hopes Arlovski will be able to transition into his world as a legitimate competitor shortly.

“Freddie is very demanding in terms of how people work with him,” says Arlovski’s longtime manager and confidante Leo Khorolinsky. “Andrei is a hard worker and he’s very hungry and when something’s not working out, he’ll go even more for it because he’s on a mission to get it to work. Freddie is very passionate about what he does and he sees that same passion coming back from his student -- it’s my observation that they recharge each other.”

Arlovski and Roach started their fourth collaboration together in late September, preparing the fighter for an Oct. 11 tilt with the dangerous Josh Barnett at Affliction 2 “Day of Reckoning” in Las Vegas. After a week and a half of intense two-a-days with his mentor, Arlovski packed up and headed home to his waiting team in Chicago. Michael Garcia, Arlovski’s boxing coach at the local JABB gym, began to meld Roach’s teachings into Arlovski’s final month of preparation with his wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructors Sean Bormet, John Kading and Dino Costeas.

The train derailed on Wednesday though, when Affliction announced that they had decided to postpone their second show until next January. The card was to have featured 20 fighters, many of whom have vocalized disappointment with the delay in the last day. Arlovski, who left the much greener pastures of the UFC in July to play the MMA’s growing field of rival competitors, has taken a more tempered approach. Maybe training with the distinguished Roach and a dedicated Chicago team has enforced Arlovski’s sense of patience during such uncertain times. The former UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t stopped training since he got word two days ago, though he says the date of his next fight is unknown at this time.

“I don’t feel like stopping just yet,” says Arlovski. “Maybe I’ll back off a little in intensity, but I’m still going to train. I enjoy it and I need to be ready and prepared and working on my skills.”

Affliction’s decision to move its second event has raised red flags in a community all too familiar with failed enterprises. But whispers of a pending alliance with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy promotions have grown stronger by the hour. Officials with Affliction have said an announcement of epic proportions could come as early as this Saturday.

Arlovski said he’s reading the rumors alongside the fans and is hopeful that the promotion’s horizon could be on the verge of expansion as it suggests.

“My manager has been in contact with Affliction,” Arlovski said Thursday. “I personally think we should give Affliction an opportunity to sort things out and figure things out and let us know what the next step is for us. I signed a three-fight contract I agreed to fulfill and I’m concentrating on that.”