Victor Ortiz: Bradley Bound or Phenom Fallout?

By:Bennie Hayes

Even as a true admirer of the level of competition in and around 140 pounds, I can understand what the reasonable opposition to this fight are saying.

Timothy Bradley has just come off the most impressive fight of his career by beating the undefeated Lamont Peterson this past Saturday night to retain his WBO Jr. Welterweight title while maintaing a perfect record himself at 25 victories without a loss. On the other hand though, despite his convincing TKO victory over Antonio Diaz this past Saturday night, Victor Ortiz’s stellar expectations as Golden Boy Productions next true prizefighter have taken a backseat of late as his will power as a fighter is still in question due to the fact that he literally Quit his previous fight versus Marcos Maidana. That being said, there are variables.

First and foremost, why? According to an article that was seen on the BoxingScene in recent days, he cites a family matter from the night before the Maidana fight as the main reason why he was not himself. To add to that, when Max Kellerman interviewed him before the Diaz fight, his response was to the effect of “That wasn’t even me in there last time”.

Now secondly, is it true? I am as positive as the fact that the Sun will rise tomorrow, that a large amount of people who cry “quitter! quitter!” the instant Ortiz’s name is mentioned, are not mentally capable of comprehending the idea that Ortiz has been, and continues to insinuate, as his reason for quitting the fight with Maidana. (I do apologize to those who feel that they are unjustly included in this grouping)

What Ortiz makes it sound like, is that he had some level of revelation that night before the fight, where words and thoughts were expressed between him and his loved ones that should not have been at that time, and because of this, he was left in an extremely humbled state. Such a state whereas one not only questions the most recent events that have led to that exact moment but also the un/known events of the immediate future.

So what does that all mean in layman’s terms? It means that Ortiz put his life into question of his own accord and was unable to resettle himself before the fight, which led to his nonchalantness throughout and after the bout. Once again, that is what he has been trying to imply since that night. Do I believe him though? I am not sure whatsoever.

It is convincing between the post fight interview immediately following the Maidana bout, all the way to the pre-Diaz fight interview with Kellerman, as he definitely maintained the appeal of someone whom I have already described as having had a Real personal issue at an inopportune time.

If this is the case and I am correct in my assertion, then I have no doubt that he is Beyond capable of not only rebounding, but actually attaining the level of greatness that GBP and so many others have predicted for him. However, if I am being mislead and he in fact was mentally stable and simply quit the fight because the going got tough, then as a majority of the neysayers have already said, “Once a quitter, always a quitter”.

For those of you who are skeptical, please try to understand that there is an enormous difference between the self-inflicted philosophical debate that I have referenced versus the relatively simple (though arguably more challenging) mental battle that an ass-whoopin’ generates in the ring. In short, if what I assess is true then the likelihood of Ortiz quitting a bout ever again is slim to none.

All that Jazz and I must say that even if he is going to be okay, he definitely needs one more solid victory in order to fully convince himself that all of this critical talk is nothing but the BS of the sport. And if that is the case, Timothy Bradley is surely not that next fight as I presume Ortiz is simply just not ready…at the moment.

Lastly, for those of you who saw Ortiz’s fight versus Diaz, please tell me what you thought of his movement as a whole? Between the consistent foot spacing, slightly arched back and natural flow of head movement, I can say in earnest that Victor Ortiz encompasses the true beauty of a Boxer. On the other hand though, I find his technique once engaged is indeed questionable to say the least.

A friend of mine suggested Ortiz work with Mayweather Sr if he were actually slated to fight Bradley in early 2010 as rumored. And Though I cannot condone Mayweather as the clear cut best fit for him, I do agree that he needs a change of pace at this point in order to reach that next level. A next level however, that really may not be attainable for him at all. Only time will tell.