SOMETHING happened while Victor Ortiz was on his way to the bank.
Penciled already for a blockbuster showdown with WBC Junior Middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in September, Ortiz had to deal with a pesky little errand: Defeat Josesito Lopez.
Unfortunately, Lopez spoiled Ortiz?s grandiose career plans by breaking his jaw and making him quit on his stool in the ninth round.
THE FIGHT. Ortiz started out strong behind a strong, stiff jab and a prodigious left hand behind it.
Lopez, however, wasn?t exactly outmatched and hung with Ortiz in almost every round behind some crisp straight rights and some body work.
By the middle rounds, it was clear that it wasn?t going to be an easy night for Ortiz as Lopez boxed well behind his longer reach and would occasionally crack Ortiz with an uppercut.
Ortiz still edged most of the rounds with his harder blows and by the 8th round, Lopez?s left eye was almost swollen shut.
However, somewhere between the 7th and 8th rounds, he caught Ortiz with a good crack to the jaw that broke it and in the ninth, the latter?s corner announced their fighter was unable to continue.
HEARTLESS. Almost on cue, Ortiz (29-4, 22KOs) was pilloried by some writers and fans for quitting and for having ?no heart?.
Despite the injury being legitimate (it was broken in two places and re-set with a plate screwed into it), they rationalized that Victor?s track record bears out his vilification.
I am inclined to partially agree.
In his post-fight comments in the Marcos Maidana fight wherein he was stopped in 6 rounds, Ortiz apparently uttered, ?I?m too young to be getting beat up like that? or words to that effect.
He also folded against Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he scored with a jumping head-butt in the 4th round and got clocked by the Pretty Boy in a nasty payback a few seconds later.
MENTAL. To me, Victor?s woes also reveal a lack of mental focus rather than a simple matter of courage shortage.
Boxing isn?t called the hurt business for nothing and it demands and exacts a higher metric not only of physical prowess but also of mental resiliency from its participants.
A glaring example is how he conducted himself against Floyd Jr. Apparently realizing he was getting countered silly by a fighter he had difficulty hitting, he fouled the ?Pretty Boy? the first chance he got.
Then he apologizes twice profusely and tries to kiss him in the middle of the ring as if he was trying to get a loan.
Of course, ?Money? Mayweather wasn?t impressed by his pusillanimous antics, and leveled him with a left hook and a right straight.
PRECEDENTS. It doesn?t help Ortiz cause either that other high-caliber fighters have fought on and some even found ways to win, despite suffering fight-ending injuries.
Arthur Abraham broke his jaw in the first fight against Edison Miranda and initially wanted to quit, but was egged on to continue and eventually won the fight.
Of course, he had to take food through a straw for several weeks after that.
Antonio Margarito finished the fight on his feet against Manny Pacquiao with a broken orbital bone and recently, Tim Bradley fought on with an ankle injury against Manny and attended the post-fight conference in a wheelchair.
The thing about ?Vicious Vic? is that he seems to panic when the going gets tough and cannot seem to find the will to fight through attrition.
But don?t get me wrong. Ortiz fought a hard fight and gave as good as he got. I respect his decision to favor his injury and his career rather than finish the fight with a broken jaw.
But the hard truth is that there are some fighters out there who are willing to soldier on, damned be the consequences. It?s a brutal sport, and there might not be room on the top for a panicky warrior.
LAST ROUNDS. Are on Atty. Melanie Marie Zosa-Tan who recently celebrated her birthday and newly minted couple Henry and Charisse Mae Quiletorio. Cheers!
