On Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz will try to prove to the boxing world he can outsmart unbeaten Floyd Mayweather and emerge victorious despite majority predictions favoring his foe. Pound -for-pound king Manny Pacquiao earlier said Ortiz can be his torch-bearer when he retires from boxing to continue a career and politics and public service. An upset win by Ortiz over Mayweather will be a dream-come-true for the former Kansas wanderer, whose mother abandoned him as a child for a relationship with another man. Pacquiao and Ortiz have one thing in common. They both rose from poverty to become world boxing champions. Pacquiao though has a religious and loving mother while Ortiz had the exact opposite. A win by Ortiz will not make him an instant torch-bearer for Pacquiao but it will definitely boost his chances of becoming a boxing icon and an inspirations for others who are similarly situated. But what are Ortiz’ chances for an upset win? First and foremost is Ortiz’s youth. He is at least a decade younger than Mayweather. He is definitely in his prime at 24, while Mayweather, who is past 34, is several years past his prime?if anyone believes a boxer is in his prime between ages 26-32.
