“Victor has the charisma, looks, smile and most importantly, he has the goods — the talent — to be the chosen one.” ?GOLDEN BOY OSCAR DE LA HOYA on then undefeated prospect VICTOR ORTIZ
“People who haven’t seen him will love his style, and his story is compelling and inspirational.? ?DE LA HOYA again, continuing the orchestrated coronation of the junior welterweight from Kansas and Oxnard.
Like so many Hollywood hype jobs, Victor Ortiz came right out of Central Casting.
It was if there was a successor to Golden Boy Oscar checklist and it went something like this:
Mexican American? Check.
Handsome so as to appeal to females? Check.
Good puncher? No doubt. Check.
Aggressive, fan friendly style? Surely, check.
Born to a humble bed? His parents ditched him so, yes.
Oscar, whose Golden lights were dimmed if not switched off completely by a guy named Manny Pacquiao, must have in amazement at his and his boxing promotional company?s great luck in landing Ortiz.
To get him, all they had to was to swipe him away from Bob Arum?s Top Rank rival outfit, conveniently overlooking his valid contract with that firm.
Ortiz and manager Shelly Finkel had a perfectly legal dodge. Ortiz filed for bankruptcy in order to discharge all financial obligations including his Top Rank contract.
There were complications and some sort of deal was worked out. Arum got paid or continues to get paid (just as the Goldens continue to get paid when Pacman fights even if they don?t supply the opponent).
Ex-manager Cameron Dunkin got paid. Ortiz dumped trainer and world champion (who I co-managed) Robert Garcia in favor of Garcia?s brother, Danny.
Ortiz claimed he didn?t like how Robert and his father, who developed not only his son but also a world champion named Fernando Vargas in Oxnard, spoke to him.
Along the way boxing people learned that Ortiz might need a chin implant, that he is not exactly the best punch taker around. Recently, he jettisoned a younger brother named Temo, telling the kid ?to go write your own story.?
If they had a Karma Count which operated like Compubox, the punch counters, everyone would have known the bad karma was overwhelming the good.
The Goldens Boys began applying Chapstick whenever Ortiz was in their presence.
Greatest thing since sliced bread was the Golden party line.
The expectations became exceedingly grandiose.
Now the ?0? in Ortiz?s pro record has got up and gone courtesy of a nail hard Argentinean (in the Carlos Monzon, Carlos Baldomir, Jorge Ahumada, Jorge “Locomotora” Castro, Oscar Bonvavena mold) named Marcos Maidana.
Maidana didn?t read or follow the Golden script. He refused to lay down for the New King, the exalted prospect.
It was Maidana who survived three knockdowns and made Ortiz pack it in.
The doubts that may have been private, the ones in Ortiz?s head, are going public now.
Ortiz admits he?s got ?plenty to think about? as he licks his wounds and plots a comeback.
A Golden Child such as he is not supposed to be making comeback plans at age 22.
He is supposed to be cavorting on the red carpet of wealth, celebrity and indulgence.
But Maidana pulled that comfortable carpet out from under the Golden Child?s feet.
Ortiz will fight again and his response to losing in a real war will determine his future.
This fight will prove to either make him or break him.
But the Goldens have to be extra careful going forward.
The star potential is still there but, after Saturday night under the hot glare of an HBO, main event, Ortiz has to go out and regain his fistic footing.
As he stands today, he?s got one foot on a roller skate, the other on a banana.
He may yet prove to have what Oscar called the Golden ?goods.?
But he didn?t deliver on the big stage this time.
They billed this as “Announce Your Arrival.”
One more loss like this, in which Ortiz’s fighting heart in terms of battling adversity comes into question, they will be calling that fight something else.
“Ready For Departure” will be more accurate.
