Last week, when Victor Ortiz announced via social media that he would be making a comeback, the internet was buzzing in unison: ?Who the hell cares??
But, really, a returning Victor Ortiz is good for the sport.
Before anyone passes out from laughter or angrily flips over to that website will all the viruses and press releases disguised as news stories, hear this out:
Victor Ortiz is good for boxing!
Yes, Victor Ortiz is what he is. He?s a thoroughbred athlete with a scrambled brain and fragile psyche. He?s not consistent main stage material and, at this point, it?s very safe to say that he will never reach his full potential as a fighter.
The guy is a mess. True.
But just because Golden Boy tried to hype Ortiz as the next GOLDEN BOY and proceeded to cram him down the public?s throat as such, there?s no reason to hold a grudge.
In defeat or near defeat, Ortiz has produced some truly memorable moments. The knock against him as a serial quitter would not even be an issue if not for one poorly thought-out post-fight interview after losing to Marcos Maidana and an inept corner during his bout with Josesito Lopez that forced him to throw in the towel for himself after suffering a broken jaw.
The Maidana and Lopez fights were the defining moments of his career and contributed to Ortiz becoming increasingly detached from his profession. Between those two psyche-killers, though, were a Fight of the Year-caliber win over Andre Berto, a few solid victories, and on odd, ugly, but hardly damning TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather.
Between fights and while recovering from injuries, Ortiz worked the Hollywood circuit like few other active boxers have. Yeah, much of it was silly fluff like his Facelube endorsement and Dancing with the Stars, but boxing desperately needs more of its stars to at least attempt a crossover to the mainstream. Ortiz looked like a dope, but at least he tried.
There?s no reason Ortiz can?t be brought back into the sport, showcased in some easy squashes on Fox Sports 1 or ESPN Friday Night Fights, then paired off in a very compelling rematch with fellow-wreckage, Andre Berto. Ortiz-Berto II won?t mean a whole lot, but it will be fun. Golden Boy has gone this far in pushing Ortiz, why not keep him as a second (or third) tier attraction who can help sell some of the smaller shows and tangle with the occasional fringe contender whose name is bigger than his credibility? and there are plenty of those types at welterweight-junior middleweight, such as Omar Chavez, Jorge Paez Jr., Hector Camacho Jr., and Jose Luis Castillo. There?s certainly no shame in playing to the smaller houses.
His second round KO loss to Luis Collazo back in January looked to be, at best, the product of an ill-advised booking. At worst, it looked like Golden Boy throwing in the towel on Ortiz, sticking him in the ring with a real old school pro after seventeen months off rehabbing a badly broken jaw. It was hard to imagine things turning out well for Ortiz given the circumstances under which he fought Collazo.
So, yeah, maybe the idea of a full comeback is too late. But why not give it a real chance this time, anyway? At 27, Ortiz has plenty of life ahead of him. Even in a worst case scenario, Golden Boy gets an undercard ticket mover and the fans get a target for online trash talk.
Ortiz is good for boxing. By no means is he a savior or will he ever be a key player in the game. But he?s fun, gets people talking, and is absolutely unpredictable. Boxing could use more characters like Victor Ortiz.
