By Ruben Anguiano:
This upcoming Saturday June 23rd, Victor “Vicious” Ortiz (24-1-1 19KO’s) will face his yet toughest opponent Marcos “El Chino” Maidana (25-1 24KO’s) for the interim WBA World Light Welterweight Title. The fight will be televised live by HBO’s “Boxing after Dark” sponsored by Tecate and Southwest Airlines.
“I have trained very hard and feel well prepared for Saturday’s fight. I have no words to express how excited and honored I feel to be the headline of this event,” stated Victor Ortiz during a phone telephone conference call yesterday.
When asked about catching everyone’s attention in the world of boxing and his opportunity to fight at such a young age at the Staples Center, a place recognized for its huge events he says, “I try to push it away and just concentrate on the fight. I am just here for the fight. It’s just a lot of talk out there. I am just here to do my job.” Ortiz realizes this will be a tough bout but is confident in his training, “I have seen a lot from Marco, he’s a very strong boxer. He is not a walk in the park but I’m ready for 12 hard rounds.”
Marcos Maidana is coming off a controversial split decision against Andriy Kotelnik in Germany where many believe he was the winner.
“Yes, I saw the video of the fight and think I won. But he received the hometown decision,” Maidana told the media. When asked if he felt concerned about being robbed here in Los Angeles, Victor’s hometown he responded, “No. I am not worried at all. This fight is different. Last fight my opponent just blocked and ran. I know Victor is coming here to fight.”
“Victor is a very good and dangerous fighter. My team and I are very anxious for Saturday to come and we feel confident and well prepared. It is my first fight here in the Unites States so I am very excited about fighting here and showing the boxing fans what I am capable of.”
On another note it has been confirmed by the CEO if Golden Boy Promotions, Richard Schaefer, that Rocky Juarez will not participate at all on Saturday’s HBO card. This happened due to Chris John’s collapse last Saturday after a sparring session. Juarez and his team were offered a fight against Mario Santiago but they decided to reject the offer.
“Juarez will not fight at all. It is very hard to find another opponent for Juarez. HBO is very strict when it comes to choosing boxers. It is still a very exciting card and the toughest fight for Victor Ortiz,” stated Schaefer. “About 8,000 tickets out of the 10,000 tickets have been sold. Everything is looking good.”
On Friday the official weight in will take place outside the Staple Center at 1pm. Doors will open at 4pm on Saturday and HBO will air the fight at 7pm.