In the last two editions of In the Squared Circle, we explored the career beginnings of Gaspar “Indio” Ortega as well as his trip to New York City which made him a star. In this third and final installment, Ortega shares his memories of his greatest fights…
In 1956, Ortega fought in his first of many wars with who many consider one of the best fighters of his era, Tony DeMarco (no relation to the current interim WBC lightweight champion). in November, Ortega defeated the DeMarco with a split decision in ten rounds. A month later, Ortega repeated the win with another split decision after dropping DeMarco in the first. Surprisingly, in February of the following year, 
they fought a third time but this time in DeMarco’s hometown of Boston where Ortega, not as surprising, was on the losing end of a unanimous decision.
“I am nobody’s boss so when I was told that I was going to fight him again and since I felt capable to do it, that is how it happened,” Ortega said humbly.
Later the same year, Ortega was matched against the Cuban Kid Gavilan who at the time of their fight, had more than one hundred bouts to his credit. Ortega faced off against Gavilan twice, with each walking away with a win and great respect for their opponent.
“In the first fight, he beat me, no doubt about it,” Gaspar states. “I was amazed with his conditioning. I hit him with some great punches and nothing happened.”
“The second fight was much different,” continues Ortega. “I had to use a little bit more movement. In the first fight I was able to learn his style so by the second I was able to take advantage.”
Finally, after more than a decade as a professional, Gaspar Ortega earned the right to challenge for the welterweight title against the tough Emile Griffith. The two men had faced each once before about a year earlier were Griffith was awarded a split decision which the Madison Square Garden crown booed as they sided with Ortega. In the meantime until their second meeting, Ortega faced Carmen Basilio, dropping a unanimous decision to the Italian but earning one against Benny Paret to earn the title fight on June 3rd, 1961.
At the time, there was only one champion for each weight class and not the four different organizations that are part of boxing today.
“I have always said that the way that I wasn’t promoted properly, there was no plan, at least not for me to be a world champion,” Ortega says with regret visibly on his face. “I think that is the reason why it took so long for me to fight for a world title.”
“I don’t like to give excuses but I think that my first fight against Emile Griffith was a draw,” Ortega says. “It was very close. The second fight, which was for the title, I over trained. The fight was scheduled for a Friday and it was postponed a week. I was ready for the fight but I kept training hard and I over trained. By the time I climbed into the ring, I was drained. I felt very weak.”
Ortega was stopped in the twelfth round of the fifteen round scheduled bout.
As a fighter in the 50’s and 60’s, Ortega was not immune to the long hand of organized crime which at the time was as much a part of boxing as the corner stools.
“The mafia existed back then but I never was contacted or talked to by them to do anything,” Ortega states. “There was one time that something suspicious happened. When I fought against Don Jordan in Long Beach, somebody called my room. I answered the phone. They asked for my trainer and he went to the lobby. Somebody called saying they wanted to have me fight in Montana.”
“When he left, seconds later, somebody knocked on the door,” Ortega continues. “A young man was at the door, tall, wearing a suit. He asked me how I felt for the fight and I told him I felt great. He then asked me how much I was getting paid but I didn’t know, but no less than $4,000. He then offered me $10,000 more. I thought he was offering me $10,000 if I won so I said, no problem because I felt strong and I knew that I was going to win.”
“No, I don’t want you to win, I want you to go down in the third round,” Ortega says is what the man told him. “I threw him out of my room and I told him that I was going to win that night.”
Ironically, Ortega lost by a split decision although to this day, Ortega feels that he was robbed of the decision.
After his failed world title attempt, Ortega kept fighting, winning more than he lost but by the mid-60s, “Indio” lost ten fights in a row which unequivocally meant the end to his long career.
“I was tired by then,” Ortega says truthfully. “I had been fighting for more than fifteen years as a professional with tough fights during that time, I was just tired.”
After more than 180 professional fights, with his name in mentioned with the greats of a by gone era in boxing that is remembered as legendary, Gaspar Ortega’s best remembered memory of his career is one of tragedy
“My second fight with Emile Griffith is the one that I remember the most because it is the biggest tragedy of my life,” Ortega reminisces. “I think my career is defined by that loss. What ever happened before or after doesn’t mean as much as that fight. I wanted to win that fight.
“I don’t know if that was my toughest fight, overtraining didn’t help. I was very hurt and disappointed with myself.”
Years later, Ortega faced off against his toughest opponent yet when he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1995. Fortunately, he was able to defeat it as he did with so many other foes he faced off with.
“I was very stupid, I began to smoke after I retired from fighting,” Ortega says. “When I was fighting, I never smoked but for some reason, I began to smoke once I retired in 1965.”
After his boxing career, Ortega stayed in the United States, primarily in the east coast and began to work as a social worker. Now retired from his second career, Ortega stays busy training young boys and girls in Connecticut and with his eleven grandkids, a product of his 50+ year marriage along with four sons and a daughter.
One of his sons is world renown referee Mike Ortega.
Although he is part of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and is loved in boxing circles through out the world, many might say that Gaspar “Indio” Ortega does not receive the same adulation and respect that many of his contemporaries such as Tony DeMarco, carmen Basilio and Emile Griffith do in the annals of boxing history, but Ortega does not see it that way.
“I am happy with the thought that I satisfied many people with my career, many people that saw me fight,” Ortega says with a smile. “All I want is for them to say that I was as good as the rest of them.”