R.I.P. Carlos Ortiz, Former Lightweight Champion and Hall of Fame Inductee

Published

3 years ago

June 14, 2022

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 69^th Infantry Regiment. This was New York’s famous “Fightin’ 69^th,” 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 10^th 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 12^th 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 112^th 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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Arne K. Lang

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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

Published

7 hours ago

May 11, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12^th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.

The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.

But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.

Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.

Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.

As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.

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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

Published

9 hours ago

May 11, 2025

David A. Avila

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In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.

What do they feed these guys?

Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.

From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.

It was savage.

Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.

Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.

Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.

But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.

Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.

Interim IBF Lightweight Title

The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.

Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.

Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.

Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.

There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.

Muratalla was brief.

“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”

Perla Wins

Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.

Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Published

23 hours ago

May 10, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.

Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.

In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.

Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.

Semi-Wind-Up

Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.

Other Bouts of Note

In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.

In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.

Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.

A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).

Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry

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