Victor Ortiz’s trainer Joseph Janik writes passionate IG post

Victor Ortiz has been the target of ample criticism — and flying objects — since his fourth-round stoppage loss to Andre Berto on April 30. Ortiz’s trainer, Joseph “Hoss” Janik, decided he had had enough of his fighter being called a “quitter,” and took to Instagram to drop a jewel:

Outsiders will never know what it takes just to get to this point. Pain, sacrifice, discipline, heart & balls. @itsvortiz put in the work & was executing our game plan perfectly when he got hit with a great uppercut. He rose from that devastating shot & didn’t hold…he didn’t run…he showed amazing courage & will to immediately trade with @andreberto attempting to hurt him with a big shot. As a teacher, I would have liked to see my student be a little more defensive at that time BUT his natural instincts as a fighter took over and he attempted to steady himself and answer with his own power shots. What more can you ask. When he climbed to his feet after the 2nd knockdown, I could see in his eyes he was out on his feet. If Jack Reiss hadn’t stopped the fight, I would have. Soldiers are warriors who fight & die for a greater good(I served with honor in the U.S. Army so I know), while fighters are modern day gladiators that battle each other for our entertainment. They lose a little bit of themselves every time they enter the ring/cage whether sparring or in a fight. That’s the path they chose. However, they should never be expected to put their lives on the line. That price is ultimately TOO high. I am proud of the way my guy fought and conducts himself in & out of the ring. He is dedicated, proud, funny, caring & talented. This loss saddened him greatly even though most of you will never see that. He lives his life the way he wants to & I respect him for that. I have found that people dislike others because we are not who THEY want us to be. That saddens me. I stand proudly & confidently as a man, a son, a brother, a parent, a teacher & a human being… a child of GOD #themaninthemirror #knuckleheadzfamily

A photo posted by Joseph Janik (@knuckleheadzboxing) on May 2, 2016 at 2:06pm PDT

Janik’s awesome, heartfelt post pretty much speaks for itself. Good for him, sticking up for his fighter in the face of a public pile on.

While Ortiz certainly isn’t above criticism, it’s refreshing to see his cornerman come out and basically say, “Look, my fighter was massively hurt. I wasn’t going to let him continue even if he beat the count.”

Not to place any blame on Ortiz’s corner, but in hindsight, the best option probably would’ve been for them to throw the towel immediately after the second knockdown. That would’ve taken the matter out of referee Jack Reiss’ hands, and averted Ortiz from the nightmare scenario of being asked if he can continue while badly hurt.

It’s understandable though. The first knockdown, caused by a perfectly thrown right uppercut by Berto, was what really hurt Ortiz. Miraculously, he was able to get up from that shot, so why not give him several seconds after the second less-brutal knockdown to see if he can somehow get his legs back under him? It didn’t happen, and obviously Janik saw that once Ortiz rose to his feet for the second time.

Despite not completing four full rounds, the Berto-Ortiz rematch delivered plenty of highlights which can be seen below, courtesy of the Premier Boxing Champions YouTube channel: