A new boxing star was born this weekend. Unfortunately for the Golden boy, it was the wrong guy. This weekend was supposed to be a showcase fight. A fight in the Mecca of west coast boxing, the Staples Center, with Victor Ortiz to make his grand showing to the masses. Well it didn?t exactly work out that way. The KO loss this weekend of boxing’s top prospect showed that Ortiz is indeed human and posed lots of questions about the future of the “heir apparent.” Is Victor Ortiz the next Golden boy or will he become the next Panchito Bojado?
Lots of hype has filled the airwaves of late for Vicious Ortiz. He was named the top boxing prospect in the world by ESPN and has been making lots of noise on Spanish language television and Radio. Just last week, Ortiz was showcased on ?el Piolin? radio show rated number one in the Spanish language media along with Oscar de la Hoya to promote his upcoming fight. This weekend was his first ever headlined show, on HBO no less, but one man flew in from thousands of miles away, Marcos Maidana to rain on his parade.
Who?s to blame for the Ortiz destruction we saw this weekend? You can try to blame the trainer for trying to out muscle Marcos Maidana, Oscar de la Hoya for putting him in with such a dangerous fighter, or even Ortiz fight night jitters. However the real blame can be put on the right hand of Maidana and the lack of defense of Victor Ortiz. At 26-1, 25 wins by KO, Maidana has a straight right hand made to put people to sleep.
The Argentine came to fight. In his first fight ever in the USA he was not looking for a simple paycheck, he was looking for another KO on his ledger. As for the defense of Victor Ortiz you ask? Pulling your head straight back and leaving your guard down is not proper path to becoming the next de la Hoya. You can get away with this from lesser fighters but not world contenders.
Ortiz has a lot to learn from the outing. Its nice to see young fighters stepping up and facing tough competition. However how they lose these tough battles as well is just as important. Jorge Barrios vs. Acelino Frietas, the Argentine was bloody and beaten but became a fan favorite for his willingness to go out on his shield. Ortiz was bleeding and battered but seemed to throw up his hands and shake his head in the 6th round. Cotto as well showed true grit with early knockdowns in his career but was able to show championship heart to mount a comeback in the later rounds. Ortiz has yet to show what he can mount when in the hole. At age 22 we still have a chance to find out, if he learns from this loss.
There will be more outings and time to rebuild some confidence. The aura of invincibility however is now gone from Ortiz as the heir apparent to the Golden Boy. Future foes will be gunning for him with the straight right hand at the ready looking to become the next Marcos Maidana.
