Victor Ortiz
SOMETIMES VICTOR ISN’T ALL THAT “VICIOUS”
Los Angeles, CA– One of the more polarizing figures in boxing today, former WBC welterweight (147 lb.) champion Victor Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KOs), is back in the ring this Thursday to take on tough veteran Luis Collazo (34-5, 17 KOs) from the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY. “Vicious Victor” will fight for the first time since suffering a June 2012 TKO 9 loss to Josesito Lopez (31-6, 18 KOs), a fight in which Victor was forced to resign with a severely broken jaw.
COLLAZO HAS BEEN BURNED MORE THAN TOAST!
While Collazo is not the hardest hitter, he is a skilled boxer who has only been stopped once in his career and has faced the likes of Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KOs), Ricky Hatton (45-3, 32 KOs), and Shane Mosley (47-9-1, 38 KO). Collazo went the full 12 with all three of those fighters and his losses to all three, Mosley, Hatton and Berto were controversial. He can certainly fight, and it will be interesting to see how effective Ortiz will be after a year and a half away from the sport.
EVENLY MATCHED WELTERS LOOKING UPWARD
I think Golden Boy Promotions set up a nice match here that should raise both fighters’ stock. Victor has the power advantage here and I expect him to come out on top, but a Collazo victory would not be shocking in the least. The against, given his penchant for getting robbed and his relative lack of power, perhaps there is little hope for Collazo actually getting a W even if he deserves it.
COLLAZO LIKE THE RODNEY DANGERFIELD OF WELTERWEIGHTS
If Luis manages to outbox Victor, which I give him a good shot of doing, will he get frustrated like he did when he got schooled by Floyd Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs)? Ortiz’ mental toughness has been questioned throughout his career, and it may certainly come into play in this fight.
WINNER WILL GET MORE OPPORTUNITIES
If Victor does win, I think there are a lot of great fights out there for him. Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO), Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KOs), and Canelo Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) are all big money fights at or near his weight class. Rematches with Andre Berto and Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) would be great for fans and are winnable for Ortiz. Newly crowned IBF welterweight champ Shawn Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs) and the heavy-handed Keith Thurman (22-0, 20 KOs) are also viable options. Whether you love him or hate him, Victor Ortiz brings even more excitement to an already stacked welterweight division.
Zak Young