VENTURA, Calif. — Victor Ortiz was ready to go home and hit the showers once the sun began to set the day of his open media workout for his Sept. 17 showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the Knuckle Headz Gym.
The recent media day included a ceremony with kids from the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, for which Ortiz is now a national spokesperson, 10 rounds of shadowboxing, working the mitts and hitting the heavy bag for photographers, and at least a dozen interviews with newspaper writers, internet sites and Spanish-language television.
The media event began with an outdoor lunch served at 1:30 p.m. Ortiz figured he was free to go around 6:00 p.m., but as he was about to leave the gym with some friends, publicists from Golden Boy Promotions informed him that there were still a few on-camera interviews to be done. Ortiz let out a deep sigh, returned to the ring area and answered every question.
He won?t admit it, but being in the media spotlight takes some getting used to. Nobody paid attention to the 24-year-old southpaw when he was training for Andre Berto, the undefeated WBC welterweight titleholder who was expected to take Ortiz?s ?questionable? heart.
Ortiz took Berto?s heart and the title in dramatic fashion on April 16. Four and half months later, a production crew for HBO?s 24/7 series follows his every move in preparation for Mayweather, who he?ll fight in the main event of a pay-per-view extravaganza from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Much has changed, but Ortiz, and those closest to him, insist that he hasn?t. The surly, me-against-the-world attitude that he carried into the Berto fight worked for him and he says he?s sticking with it for Mayweather.
?I shut it all out,? Ortiz told RingTV.com. ?The media, the cameras, even the fans rooting for me, who I appreciate. I?m not letting it effect me.
?My mindset hasn?t changed since the Berto fight. It?s only gotten stronger. I let too many people get close to me before the Maidana incident and I?ve learned my lesson.?
The ?Maidana incident,? of course, was Ortiz?s sixth-round stoppage to 140-pound standout Marcos Maidana in June of 2009. Most of the boxing world counted him out of his welterweight debut against Berto based solely on the manner in which he submitted to the Argentine slugger.
?The Foxwoods casino listed Victor as a 14-to-1 underdog the day he fought Berto. He opened as a 7-to-1 underdog to Mayweather, so maybe people are giving him half a chance to win this time,? joked Ortiz?s co-trainer Mario Aguiniga.
