In The Squared Circle: Surprise, Surprise

July 1, 2009

As I drove away from my humble abode on Saturday morning on my way to Los Angeles and the Staples Center for the Victor Ortiz vs. Marcos Maidana interim WBA Jr. welterweight title bout, I had no idea my night was going to end as it did.

I am sure neither did Victor Ortiz.

Although neither one of our nights ended just how we imagined them, I am sure that mine ended in a much better way. At least I didn’t have a huge bump under my left eye; the bumps were in front of my eyes…

Prior to Saturday night, Victor Ortiz was being touted by Golden Boy Promotions as the second coming of, well, the “Golden Boy”. Despite Ortiz not earning a gold medal in the Olympics and already owning a loss in his record due to a disqualification, Ortiz possessed all the pre-requisites to be compared to the valuable mineral. Youth, looks, the right ethnic background coupled with command of two languages and fighting skills is what many believe a fighter needs to be well on his way to huge fights, huge crowds and huge paydays. It doesn’t hurt that the last man to possess all those attributes in one package was not only passing the baton per se, but also holding Ortiz’s hand as he neared the finish line.

Ortiz was paraded to numerous media outlets in the weeks prior to Saturday, focusing on the young urban market by having him visit Big Boy on Power 106 in Los Angeles and more importantly also visiting the most popular Hispanic DJ in the U.S. and in northern Mexico, “Piolin por la Manana.”

It is no secret that if a fighter can capture not only the imagination of the American mainstream market as well as the boxing fans of Latin America, he would become and instant success so Golden Boy Promotions were making all the right moves in promoting the 22-year-old Ortiz.

With plans of a HBO contract, MTV reality series and every imaginable door being opened as soon as that WBA belt was strapped around his waist, Ortiz’s dream of becoming a world champion this past Saturday night came tumbling down as he fell to the canvas for the second time in the sixth round. As soon as he reached his feet, Ortiz indicated that he did not want to continue thus awarding the title to the hard-hitting Maidana of Argentina.

As I walked out of the Staples Center, I remembered last time I was inside its cavernous walls. It was back in January when Margarito fell at the hands of soon to be Hall of Famer Shane Mosley in front of over twenty thousand fans. While I made my way to the press entrance that night noticing the red, white and green outfits, face paints and assorted other accessories many fans were wearing or carrying, it didn’t feel as if I was going to a boxing match but more like a soccer game featuring “El Tri” as the Mexican National soccer team is known. This past Saturday, I didn’t see any of that. As I walked across the street to the Holiday Inn for some refreshments after the bout, I began to notice the differences between both nights despite that in both fights had a similar ending, the hometown favorite lost, I came to this conclusion.

Unless you are willing to go out on your shield, Mexican fans will never accept you as their fighter.

Let’s forget for a second that Margarito was allegedly trying to load his wraps. If we remember how that fight ended and compare it with how Ortiz’s did, you will the fundamental difference which is why I believe that Margarito might be able to reach the heights of popularity once again, especially with

Mexican fans, and why Ortiz might never enjoy the same attention.

Although Mosley’s beating of Margarito was much more lopsided than the loss Ortiz suffered at the hands of Maidana, I felt the same type of electricity in the air as everyone in the room felt that they where witnessing something special. In the Margarito-Mosley case, we witnessed a spectacular display of boxing by Mosley while in Ortiz-Maidana, a fight of the year candidate. What is the most telling aspect of both fights is how they ended.

While Ortiz had dropped Maidana three times in five round and he tasting the canvas once in the first, Ortiz was caught with a hard right hand to begin the sixth that hurt him and which began to downward spiral that ended with a left hook to the body and Ortiz going down again. As he reached his feet, he waived off the fight, prompting many in the crowd to show their disapproval and one gentleman near me in press row going as far as calling Ortiz a coward loud enough for the Oxnard native to hear and react to it from the ring. Ortiz did nothing more than shrug his shoulders.

Five months earlier as Margarito was down on the canvas for the first time in nearly ten years, I don’t believe the thought of waiving off the bout crossed his or his corner’s mind. As he was barely able to survive the eighth round, Antonio Margarito sat on his stool as his trainer doused him with water trying to revive him after he was dropped once and nearly dropped again near the end of the round. It would have been very easy for the “Tijuana Tornado” to not answer the bell for the ninth round, to claim anything, a hurt hand, a concussion, anything.

But he didn’t.

Instead Margarito stood up and went out like every one of his fans in the Staples Center wanted him to, fighting.

That is what Ortiz’s fans wanted and expected from “Vicious” and all they got in return was a very business like answer to Max Kellerman of why he quit, “I’m not going to go out on my back, I’m not

going to lay down for nobody. I’m going to stop while I am ahead and that way I can’t speak well when I am older…”

If Victor Ortiz wants to be lucid after retirement, that is all fine and dandy but don’t ostracize those fans that speak ill when a fighter does not fight to the end, especially when they are used to having the warriors that speak their language and come out to the ring with the songs of their beloved Chente, fight to the death with a complete disregard of how much blood is gushing out of their faces, a la “Travieso” Arce.

I believe that Ortiz still has huge amounts of potential and that he still might become a world champion some time in the future. At the same time, none of us and I don’t think even Ortiz himself knows exactly how this loss will affect his psyche and his career.