CARSON, Calif. — Victor Ortiz had a bit of a rough go of it this weekend in his rematch with fellow welterweight Andre Berto.
Things started off decently enough for Ortiz (31-6-2, 24 KOs), as he dropped Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) with a straight left hand in the second round. Berto was more so off balance than he was severely hurt, but the flash knockdown obviously gave Ortiz a 10-8 round and an early edge on the scorecards.
“Vicious” Victor’s early lead, however, would be very short-lived.
In the fourth round, a game Berto unloaded a sinister right uppercut that Ortiz didn’t see coming which floored the Mexican-American. Ortiz beat the count but was quickly dropped again, and his silence after rising to his feet inferred a “no mas” when asked by referee Jack Reiss if he wanted to continue.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
In Ortiz’s defense, he was badly hurt by the first uppercut, so getting up from that knockdown alone was impressive. The problem for Ortiz was that he would’ve been better off writhing in pain on the second knockdown. Instead, he rose to his feet and appeared — though still dazed — to be physically able to give it one final hurrah. Ortiz had apparently had enough, once again cementing the narrative that he’s a “quitter.”
On the walk back to the locker room from the ring things really got ugly. In a video captured by Aleet Boxing and posted to their Instagram page, disgruntled fans can be seen hurling objects toward Ortiz, to which Team Ortiz rightfully didn’t take too kindly.
The incident was completely disgraceful on the part of the fans, but it signified the ongoing love-hate relationship Ortiz has had with his fan base ever since the first time he “quit” in a fight against Marcos Maidana back in 2009.
His heart has repeatedly been called into question, a trait which most certainly won’t endear himself to most fans. Ortiz entered the ring at the StubHub Center supported by a heavily pro-Ortiz crowd. Unfortunately, old habits die hard and he left the ring to an anti-Ortiz crowd.
Ortiz needs to do some soul-searching before he decides his next career move, but retirement should be in play at this point if his heart truly isn’t in the sport.
