Floyd ?Money? Mayweather Jr (41-0, 25 KO?s) will be stepping into the ring for the first time in sixteen months on September 17 when he faces World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Victor ?Vicious? Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KO?s). The pair will face off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In the lead up to the fight very little attention has been paid to Ortiz. All the media hype has been on Floyd Mayweather Jr. Even the press conferences designed to raise public awareness of the match between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Ortiz, have instead focused on when and if Floyd Mayweather Jr will ever fight Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather himself has not shown a great deal of interest in Ortiz.
Ortiz for his part is still attempting to live down his loss on June 27, 2009 to the Argentinean power puncher Marcos Maidana. In that fight, which may have been the defining moment of his career, Ortiz quit after being battered by Maidana. Afterwards Ortiz spoke of retiring. Since that time Ortiz, who is still only 24 years old, defeated former champions Vivian Harris and Nate Campbell and pulled off a huge upset by defeating the highly touted Andre Berto.
Ortiz was like a man on a mission in the Berto fight in his attempt to prove that he is not a quitter. He showed a lot of heart in climbing off the canvas twice to win a twelve round decision.
It is not always a bad thing for a fighter to lose early in his career. Many fighters have gone on to pugilistic greatness after an early loss. In Ortiz?s case it seems as though he had an epiphany and a rededication his career after the loss to Maidana. Oriz was only 22 years old when he lost to Maidana and young fighters have the ability to bounce back.
At this point Ortiz is brimming over with a new found confidence that appears to be genuine. He has grown by leaps and bounds sine the Maidana fight. He will not be a pushover for Floyd Mayweather Jr. He is a young, strong, aggressive southpaw, who is still eager to redeem himself in the eyes of his fans.
