The Boxing Truth®: Vergil Ortiz

Showing posts with label Vergil Ortiz. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Bohachuk-Ortiz Thoughts

The first two weeks of August in Professional Boxing have seen a focus on the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division. First, it was Terence Crawford becoming a four-division world champion by scoring a close twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten WBA world champion Israil Madrimov at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. A fight where for the first time in Crawford's career, he seemed to be pushed in what was a competitive bout from start to finish where there also seemed to be a little doubt under a scenario where Crawford was forced to go the twelve round world championship distance for the first time in eight years.

While this observer feels Israil Madrimov did enough to at least warrant a rematch with Crawford based on how competitive that fight was, the spotlight remained on the division on August 10th when another fight that could well have ramifications for Crawford's future took place. Yours truly is referring to the battle between top contenders Serhii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV.

The fight, where Interim/Regular champion status in the WBC’s Jr. Middleweight ratings, a designation held by Bohachuk, brought together two fighters who are known for their ability to score knockouts, and this fight at least in theory, would establish a mandatory challenger for current WBC world champion Sebastian Fundora. It would not disappoint.

In contrast to Madrimov-Crawford where the contest was fought at a highly technical and tactical pace, which one might say was similar in some ways to how numerous bouts in the amateur ranks are fought, this was a contest where the two fighters were willing to stand in close and engage with each other, throwing hard punches from the opening bell. Bohachuk scored a knockdown of Ortiz in the first round with an overhand right. While this was incorrectly ruled a slip upon it occuring, it would be corrected prior to the start of the fifth round due to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) using video review of the knockdown, otherwise known as the instant replay rule, which is not the universal standard in the sport that it should be, but is legal and used when appropriate in the state of Nevada.

The blown call in the first round, corrected via review during the course of the fight notwithstanding, it did little to change the high pace in which the fight was fought in what quickly became a close battle of wills.

Vergil Ortiz seemed to be the more active of the two fighters in several rounds, but Serhii Bohachuk seemed to be landing the harder punches of the two when he did let his hands go. When such a conundrum presents itself, it can be difficult to distinguish who is getting the upper hand, but upon the ruling prior to the fifth round, I immediately questioned to myself as to whether or not the knockdown in the first round would end up being the deciding factor in determining the outcome. Neither fighter really gave up much ground to the other and a brief knockdown, what is often referred to as a “Flash Knockdown" could well determine who wins simply because more often than not, rounds where there is a single knockdown scored is scored 10-8 in favor of the fighter who dropped their opponent.

There seemed to be some clarity, at least in my eyes, when Bohachuk was able to score a second knockdown of Ortiz early in the eighth round.. Much like the knockdown in round one, the second knockdown was not one where Ortiz was in significant trouble and/or hurt, but was briefly knocked down to the canvas. With two knockdowns and thus two 10-8 rounds being scored in his favor, I felt Bohachuk was getting the edge in a close and competitive fight.

Following the second knockdown, Ortiz was invigorated and responded aggressively in trying to press Bohachuk landing hard, thudding punches. If it were not for the knockdown against him earlier in the round, Ortiz likely would have won it. Ortiz would continue his aggression from rounds nine through twelve in rallying to earn a hard fought twelve round majority decision.

Although there was not much to distinguish between the two fighters for the first six rounds of the fight, simply because when Ortiz would land something that appeared significant, Bohachuk would respond immediately or it would be the reverse scenario where Ortiz would respond quickly to what Bohachuk had landed, I felt some of the rounds, though very close, swayed towards Bohachuk. This in addition to the two knockdowns he scored in rounds one and eight, resulted in my unofficial scorecard being 116-110 in favor of Bohaychuk. While it was indisputable who got the upper hand from the time of the second knockdown in round eight, I felt Ortiz did not do enough to overcome those knockdowns and frankly felt that he ran out of time. If the fight had been scheduled for the classic world championship distance of fifteen rounds, something this observer has long advocated to see a return to, I may have arrived at a different scorecard at the end of the fight.

Nonetheless, Ortiz emerging victorious in this fight is not something I would call a bad decision or the often tiresome claim many fans use when an outcome does not go in favor of the fighter they support, “A Robbery." It comes down to what a judge favors based on clean punching, effective aggression, ring generalship, and defense. When there are several rounds that could be scored either way, as was the case in this fight, opinions can indeed differ. It just appeared difficult to ignore two knockdowns, which under many circumstances, would determine the outcome.

For the second week in a row, a fight occurred in the Jr. Middleweight division that was close, competitive, and not expected to be in the eyes of many. As was the case with Madrimov-Crawford, I find myself wanting to see more. Perhaps it might be a good idea to stage the respective rematches of these two fights on the same card in the near future.

“And That's The Boxing Truth."

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Sunday, January 7, 2024

2024 Starts With Controversy

The start of 2024 in the world of Boxing on January 6th saw the return of undefeated former Welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz. Ortiz, who after scoring nineteen consecutive knockouts to start his career and seemed to be on the brink of challenging for a world championship, saw his career come to a halt due to a series of health problems including COVID-19 and dehydration, which stalled his return resulting in scheduled bouts being cancelled.

After seventeen months out of action, Ortiz finally did return to the ring, this time as a Jr. Middleweight to face veteran Fredrick Lawson at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The story going into this fight was a simple one. How would Ortiz look after dealing with those health issues, but also returning in a higher weight class.

In Frederick Lawson, Ortiz faced a one time contender as a Welterweight, who came into the fight with a record of 30-3, with 22 Knockouts. Lawson also had an advantage over Ortiz in terms of activity and came into the fight off of two straight wins in 2023.

When it comes to fights where one of the combatants is coming off of a lengthy stretch of inactivity, regardless of what led to that inactivity, it is always interesting to see whether the opponent will be able to force the issue early and make it difficult for the fighter to work off any theoretical “Ring Rust." As most fights do, this encounter seemingly started with a feeling out process where the two fighters were trying to get warmed up and into the task at hand.

With a little more than two minutes into round one, Ortiz connected with a jab that seemed to graze off the head of Lawson, but did back him up against the ropes. Ortiz proceeded to attack Lawson, who was against the ropes and seemed to be doing a reasonable job in protecting himself from the majority of Ortiz’ attack, but did take some left hooks to the body and some right hands to the head. Despite not appearing to be significantly hurt, Referee Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:33 of the first round.

While Tony Weeks is regarded as one of the best referees in the entire sport and has officiated nearly 900 bouts, many of which have been world championship bouts in a thirty-year career , he has not been immune from being questioned regarding a stoppage he made that many felt was the wrong call. Some may recall the June 2017 World Light-Heavyweight championship rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, where in a scenario similar to this fight, Ward unloaded on Kovalev in the eighth round, where with Kovalev against the ropes, Ward connected with a series of body shots that appeared to be on the beltline or low with Kovalev leaning over in obvious pain, Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight, but did go on in the days following the bout to say that he missed a low blow and the fight should have gone on.

This time in an interview shortly after stopping Ortiz-Lawson, Weeks in speaking with digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN stated that the reason he stopped the fight was because he saw Lawson's eyes roll back in his head. Although much like with his stoppage of the Ward-Kovalev rematch, this observer feels Weeks made a bad call or at least was a little too quick in stopping the fight, it is important to remember that as I have often said over the years, more often than not, I will side with a referee under circumstances like this for the sole reason that they are the closest person to the action and as such can see things from inside the ring, up close that others in attendance and those watching a fight on television/streaming may not see. In this case, I did not see what Weeks referenced as his reasoning for stopping this fight. Weeks’ reputation however as one of the best referees in the sport as well as the fact that he was the closest person to the fighters as they were in the midst of combat means that he needs to be taken at his word in obviously he saw something up close that told him instinctively to stop the fight before any permanent damage was done if not God forbid worse. Unfortunately, it leaves not only a bad taste in the mouths of Boxing fans to begin 2024, but also along with the controversy of the stoppage, a feeling of inconclusive, because due to the fact that there was a quick stoppage, justified or not, not much was learned about Ortiz either now as a Jr. Middleweight or in terms of his conditioning, if the fight had gone at least a few rounds.

Despite the view of yours truly that Weeks made a bad call in this fight, there are two things the reader and any would be armchair critic should keep in mind. One, referees and judges are human like the rest of us and are as prone as any of us to have a bad day or as I often refer to it “A Bad Night At The Office." Secondly, regardless of one's opinion, it is always better for a fight to be stopped too soon than wondering why a fight was allowed to go on longer than it should have when discussing a tragedy that has taken place. One thing any fan or critic should also remember is they do not have to live with the circumstances of allowing a fight to go on longer than it should where the result beyond wins or losses are either permanent injury or even death. While such dangers come with the territory in combat sports, it may be perhaps better to think of what a referee might have prevented in a circumstance where the consensus is a fight was stopped too quickly and controversially. One should also ponder what a referee might have to live with if they do not see the warning signs that a fight should be stopped and missing those signs results in tragedy. It is not something to take lightly.