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R.I.P. Carlos Ortiz, Former Lightweight Champion and Hall of Fame Inductee
The day after the International Boxing Hall of Fame wrapped up its annual festivities, one of its honored members, Carlos Ortiz, passed away at age 85. Named to the Hall in 1991 with its second class of inductees, Ortiz was a two-division title-holder, winning belts at 140 and 135 in that order.
Ortiz was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. At the age of nine, he moved with his parents to New York. The Ortiz’s found shelter on the Lower East Side before moving uptown to the Bronx. In a conversation with LA times writer Frank Finch, Ortiz reflected on his earliest days in New York: “There were mostly Irish and Italian kids there when we arrived. The Puerto Ricans were just starting to move in. I couldn’t go to school or even the corner candy store without getting beat up by the other kids.”
Some of those Irish kids that beat him up likely became his comrades when he joined the Army National Guard. He was assigned to the 69th Infantry Regiment. This was New York’s famous “Fightin’ 69th,” an entity whose ranks were historically Irish. Having a Puerto Rican on the squad was rather unusual and his companions made him an honorary Irishman, dubbing him Charlie O’Brien.
Ortiz won five regional amateur tournaments before turning pro at age 18. He developed an avid following at St. Nicholas Arena where he had his first 10-round fight and then expanded his fan base in California he was briefly a headliner at Hollywood Legion Stadium.
Ortiz won his first title on June 12, 1959, when he stopped Muskegon, Michigan cutie Kenny Lane who was forced to retire after two rounds with a severe cut over his left eye. They had met the previous year in Miami Beach with Lane winning a narrow decision.
The Ortiz-Lane fight revived a division that had been dormant since 1946. Ortiz made two successful defenses of the belt before losing it to three-time rival Duilio Loi on Loi’s turf in Milan.
His second defense, against Mexico’s “Boy Assassin” Jose “Battling” Torres was historic. Staged on Feb. 4, 1960 at the Los Angeles Coliseum where it was paired with a bantamweight title fight between Jose Becerra and Alphonse Halimi, the event set California records for attendance (31,830) and gate receipts.
Battling Torres was 31-0 going in but he was too green for Ortiz who stopped him in the 10th round.
Ortiz stalked lightweight champion Joe “Old Bones” Brown throughout his 140-pound title reign. He finally caught up with him on April 21, 1962 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Brown was making his 12th title defense, a division record. In a mild upset, Ortiz won a wide 15-round decision. Back in his dressing room, he called it his easiest fight.
Ortiz had two reigns as the world lightweight champion. The first ended when he lost a narrow decision to Panama’s Ismael Laguna in Panama City and the second reign started when he turned the tables on Laguna in the rematch at San Juan. They would meet a third time, that coming on Aug. 16, 1967 at Shea Stadium in Queens, home of the Mets.
An interesting prelude to this fight was a mock sparring session between Ortiz and New York City’s mayor, John V. Lindsay. The friendly set-to, held on 112th Street in the heart of Spanish Harlem, was designed to cool tensions. The area had erupted in a full-blown riot earlier that summer following the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding Puerto Rican by an off-duty policeman.
Authorities feared the worst, but the gathering at Shea Stadium was peaceful. It helped that Ortiz dominated Laguna once again, winning a comfortable 15-round decision.
Ortiz lost the belt the following year, succumbing on a split decision to late bloomer Carlos Teo Cruz in Santo Domingo, DR. He had 11 more fights, winning the first ten before meeting his Waterloo at the hands of the great Scotch fighter Ken Buchanan in Madison Square Garden.
By his own admission, Ortiz didn’t train properly, having lost his enthusiasm when his original opponent Roberto Duran took ill and backed out. He retired on his stool after six rounds and announced his retirement before leaving the arena. A man of his word, he never fought again.
According to boxing historian and author Jose Corpas, when Ortiz was flush, he owned the biggest and grandest nightclub in the Bronx. In 1982, he was discovered driving a cab. In the interim he went through a difficult divorce and developed a drinking problem that he eventually conquered.
At the induction ceremony for the 1991 class, Ortiz struck those in attendance as the happiest person to be there and he delivered a heartwarming speech in which he thanked his former opponents – specifically mentioning Duilio Loi, Joe Brown, and Ismael Laguna – for bringing out the best in him. And like many Hall of Famers, he would return in subsequent years. He was there with his second wife in 2011 when his old friend Joe Cortez, the famous referee, was formally enshrined in the non-participant category. Their paths had first crossed many years earlier at Bobby Gleason’s gym in the Bronx. Ortiz was already a champion; Cortez (pictured below on the left with Ortiz) was still an amateur.
Carlos Ortiz was the first Puerto Rican boxer elected to the IBHOF. He would be joined in the Canastota shrine by Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfred Benitez, Edwin Rosario, Felix Trinidad, Hector Camacho, Miguel Cotto, and old-timers Sixto Escobar and Pedro Montanez.
Ortiz finished with a 61-7-1 record that included an 11-2 mark in lineal title fights. He was stopped only once, that by Buchanan in his farewell fight. At the time of his death, he was the second-oldest former champion behind only the great Brazilian fighter Eder Jofre who was also born in 1936.
We here at The Sweet Science send our condolences to Carlos Ortiz’s friends and loved ones. May he rest in peace.
FYI: Joe Cortez will be the master of ceremonies this weekend at the annual banquet of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame. The event, which runs from June 17-19, is being held at the Marriott Hotel at 12,600 Roosevelt Blvd. North in Saint Petersburg.
Arne K. Lang’s latest book, titled “George Dixon, Terry McGovern and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910,” will shortly roll off the press at McFarland’s. The book may be pre-ordered direct from the publisher or via Amazon.
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WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool
In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.
This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.
The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.
The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.
Semi-wind-up
A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.
Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.
The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.
Other Bouts of Note
In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.
In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.
A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.
In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.
Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.
A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.
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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney
IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.
Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.
Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.
Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.
The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.
Semi-wind-up
Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).
A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.
Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More
A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”
Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.
Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.
“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.
Smith has a similar goal.
“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”
The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.
Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.
“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”
“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.
Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.
One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.
Conwell has similar talent to those two.
And what about the women fighters”
Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?
West Coast venues
Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.
A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.
On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.
The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.
World title fight
England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.
Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title
Fights to Watch
Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)
Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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