By Keith Idec
Victor Ortiz continues to get asked about dating Kobe Bryant’s estranged wife, despite, Ortiz says, that he has never even met Vanessa Bryant.
The rumor took on a brief life of its own when gossip Web sites reported right before Christmas that Ortiz and the Lakers star’s soon-to-be-ex-wife were spotted having lunch together somewhere in the Los Angeles area. There weren’t any photos to substantiate the rumor and the former WBC welterweight champion quickly denied that they were dating.
“I’ve never even been under the same roof as Vanessa Bryant,” Ortiz recently said, as he was promoting his Feb. 11 rematch against Andre Berto. “I don’t even know her. And I’m not even a Laker fan. I’m a Celtics fan, straight up. And I have nothing but respect for Kobe Bryant and that whole crew. But I don’t even think I’ve been under the same roof as his ex or his wife, or whatever she is. To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know what she looked like. I had to google her after they said that.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.
