On September 17, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. will return to the ring after a 16-month layoff to take on “Vicious” Victor Ortiz in a bout some are writing off as a tune-up fight for “Money” Mayweather. As the press tour kicked off this week, Mayweather ended up fielding more questions about Manny Pacquiao than Victor Ortiz. Could the general public be overlooking Ortiz?
Casual boxing fans may not be aware of Ortiz. Sporting a 29-2 record with 22 wins coming by way of knockout, Ortiz is coming off of an impressive victory against Andre Berto in his last fight as Mayweather sat ringside. Rumblings that Mayweather was scouting his next opponent rang true when it was announced that Ortiz would be the man to greet the undefeated fighter when he returned to the ring. But thoughts of Ortiz being a tomato can should be put to rest immediately. Prior to his win against Berto, Ortiz was lambasted by boxing critics for committing cardinal sin #1 in a fight: quitting. Although Ortiz was being prematurely crowned as the next Oscar De La Hoya, his lofty status was shot down when he fought Marcos Maidana in July 2009.
An exciting fight turned brutal as the hard hitting Maidana floored in the sixth round and he presumably quit when given the chance to continue due to swelling in one eye and a deep cut over the other. His future in the sport appeared to be in trouble but Ortiz has come back with a 5-0-1 record and claimed the WBC welterweight title after beating Berto.
No, Ortiz is not expected to win. But who is a real threat to Mayweather aside from Pacquiao? What Ortiz does have is power in both hands and he fights from a Southpaw stance even though he is right-handed. As anyone, he definitely has a puncher’s chance and at the age of 24, he has tons of room to improve. Mayweather, on the other hand, is 34 and reaching the age when he can get “old” in the ring at any given moment. That’s exactly what Ortiz needs to hope for on September 17th. Because if the Mayweather we all know comes to play, it’s going to be a rough night for Ortiz.
Still, it should be a fun event. We’re just hoping that Ortiz understands what he is facing.
Source: drjays.com
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