Victor Ortiz faced a sickening barrage of abuse during his appearance on Floyd Mayweather’s exhibition undercard in Mexico City.
The torrent arrived at the former WBC welterweight champion’s door despite months of hard work to shift significant excess weight. Ortiz will make his professional comeback on Saturday night at 154 pounds against Nestor Armas Hernandez in Garden City. He used the Mayweather vs. John Gotti III rematch card to blow off the cobwebs.
Ortiz went eight rounds with Damian Coria in the co-main event of Mayweather’s Mexican showpiece. During the event, Ortiz was slated for his size, probably as he wasn’t boasting his usual chiseled physique,
However, those detractors don’t know that Ortiz has already dropped a mass of bulk and is on his way back to full fitness at 37. It’s a commendable feat for the southpaw, who has been linked to battling Mayweather in an exhibition next year. Much will depend on how Ortiz returns to the paid ranks this weekend.
But the Kansas-born Californian doesn’t need trolls giving him a hard time when he’s already won by shedding a mass of poundage. Some of the comments were truly horrendous, and they won’t be repeated to give them any further airtime.
‘Vicious’ Victor should be applauded for coming so far, no matter where his career goes from here. Even if he used to sport to get healthy, that should be praised and not ridiculed.
Ortiz is playing the long game, potentially landing another spell of ring time with Mayweather after only narrowly missing out on getting the fight this time around. Mayweather felt he had unfinished business with Gotti, which ended last weekend due to the MMA fighter’s comprehensive schooling.
Saturday is far more important than last week for Ortiz, who has to show something in a professional capacity to land another solid payday potentially.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
