The best-laid plans of mice and pugilists often go astray. Case in point: Welterweight sensation ?Vicious? Victor Ortiz thought he would be fighting a routine tune-up bout against Josesito Lopez on Saturday. Ortiz, after all, had signed to meet Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez in a high-profile, lucrative match this fall. The rugged Lopez was only supposed to provide Ortiz with some competitive rounds in preparation for the showdown with Alvarez.
Instead, Ortiz was tripped up in this so-called tune-up, as he failed to answer the bell for the tenth round of a torrid contest. Victor blames a broken jaw for his decision to remain on his stool. Considering that he was ahead on all three judges? scorecards, it is conceivable that Ortiz could have won on points had he been able to hang in for three more rounds. Now he is being condemned in some quarters for allegedly ?quitting,? as was the case in his infamous loss to Marcos Maidana a few years ago.
Boxers are expected to fight their way through adversity. That?s almost a definition of the Sweet Science. But when a fighter is simply unable to continue, discretion is not just the better part of valor ? it becomes valor.
The choice of fighting with a serious injury is up to the individual boxer. Muhammad Ali suffered a broken jaw in the first installment of his trilogy with Ken Norton back in 1973. Although Ali lost, he went the distance. Three decades later, middleweight Arthur Abraham had his mandible shattered by Edison Miranda. Not only did Abraham go the distance; he actually won the decision.
Ortiz did not do what Ali and Abraham did. But that was Ortiz?s choice to make, and it should be respected by those of us who are not absorbing punches in the ring.
Ortiz can, however, be criticized for yet again resorting to questionable tactics. In his previous bout, against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ortiz launched a deliberate head-butt into his opponent?s face. A few moments later, Victor was on the canvas after failing to notice that the bout had officially continued.
Against Lopez, Ortiz landed a hard shot to the back of his opponent?s head ? a flagrant foul. Lopez went down, and Ortiz could very well have been disqualified. Instead Lopez was given a five-minute rest period. When the action resumed, he went after Ortiz and began to take control of the bout, even though the judges? scorecards suggested otherwise.
In the wake of Saturday?s result, the Alvarez-Ortiz bout is off. As it was, Lopez was a fill-in opponent. Ortiz was originally scheduled to meet Andre Berto in a rematch of last year?s thrilling encounter, won by Ortiz. But Berto tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, so the return bout fell through.
Now, Alvarez needs to find himself another opponent. Perhaps Lopez would fill the bill. Could the underdog pull off two upsets in a row? Or would Canelo do what Ortiz was expected to do to Lopez ? dismiss him with ease? It?s an intriguing storyline that has appeal beyond the ranks of boxing?s hard-core fans.
And these days, boxing needs all the intriguing storylines it can get. Drug tests, not left hooks, have been knocking out too many fighters of late. First there was Lamont Peterson, conqueror of Amir Khan. Then came Berto. And most recently, Antonio Tarver has tested ?dirty? after drawing with Lateef Kayode ? a fight many observers thought Tarver had actually lost.
The urine cup runneth over, and the reputation of boxing suffers in the backsplash.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
