Many people will continue to talk about the Victor Ortiz debacle that occurred on Saturday June 23, 2012. Throughout the fight, Victor took it to Josesito Lopez. In fact you could see that he was struggling in handling Ortiz’s power. Josesito was hurt or stunned several times throughout the fight and Victor was ahead on all scorecards at the conclusion, albeit a close fight.
But, in round 6 you could see something change in Ortiz’s demeanor. Danny Garcia was asking him from round 6 on, if we was ok. Whenever he was asked, there were very slight responses from Victor. Now I don’t know Victors body language or his relationship with his trainer but, it didn’t seem as if he was in this fight. It was as if Victor was supposed to run over Josesito like a freight train and then “Officially” promote his fight with Canelo; who was conveniently at ringside for the promotion of their slugfest after Josesito took his beating. But Josesito had other plans, he frustrated Victor with his relentless attack and fought through every tough combination Victor could muster up.
Now I am just elaborating about the fight, this is what I saw in a nutshell. The real question is, is Victor Ortiz a quitter? Many people will say yes, it can go either way depending on who you are, if you like Victor or if you watched his slugfest with Maidana when he “quit” after a slugfest that resulted in 5 knockdowns in 2009. If Victor had not “quit” on Maidana we wouldn’t be talking about the Josesito fight, right?
I have never broke my jaw so I cant tell you what it feels like, let alone twice within a half hour. I know we hear about many, many athletes playing through injuries. In fact I can say all athletes play through injuries throughout their careers. It’s a part of their life path and they should know it comes with the territory, otherwise they should find a different profession.
But, what constitutes a quitter versus to know when, enough is enough? Many people look at Ortiz as a quitter because it looked as if he could still go on right? “I mean it was only his jaw and since Ali could do it against Norton years ago, why cant Ortiz?” Well first off when I look at this statement we have to look at the information. Ali did break his jaw but was it early in the fight or later? That’s an argument between the Ali and Norton camps but, I have a hard time believing he broke it in the 2nd round in a 12 round fight and finished against Ken Norton; a heavyweight fighter who holds a record of 42-7-1 w/33 KO’s or a .66 KO %. Also, how bad was the injury, where was it broken? Was it in 1 place or 2 places? Did he have to have a plate and 3 screws inserted after the fight or did he heal naturally from his injury? Regardless, Ali stated that he wouldn’t have continued had he known his jaw was actually broken.
The only reason I bring up the Ali incident is because it seems thousands of people are quick to compare two incidences that to me, seem to be two very different situations. The only information we know that is similar is that they both suffered an injury to the jaw and no one officially went down in either fight. Any other information is mere speculation at this point.
But IS Victor a quitter? I mean Ali fought 11 rounds (right?) with a broken jaw, why cant he? What we don’t realize is that we worship Sports figures, we put them on a higher pedestal then ourselves. I mean look at athletes’ facebook or twitter pages, they have millions of Fans, or Worshippers. Once we jump on the bandwagon, our athlete becomes God-like right? An unstoppable human being who has special abilities or skills that top that of any other human being. What is hard for us to swallow is when our hero falls back to earth, then is when we realize that they are just like us. This is when human nature kicks in and we fans drop our former anointed Hero for the “And New!!!”
This is the American way, we were raised and force fed this importance of life and survival of our culture. The shows we watched as kids and the shows our kids are watching today follow the same pattern. There are hero’s and villains, winner and losers, quitters and warriors. But the good guy never loses right? GI Joe jumps out of his jeep unscathed just before Cobra can take it out with their JDAM. He-Man can pull off some acrobatic move just before Skeletor can get to him and take him out. And at then end of the day, the hero never faltered, never wavered and the outcome we knew was going to happen all along happens. We win and we all go back to our lives with a warm and fuzzy because our hero saved us once again. This is what our country was built on and will continue to uphold these values for as long as we are dominant.
In reality, no one is immune and ALL of us have an Achilles heal. So the question should be, what was Victors Achilles heal? Was it the broken jaw, was it the Canelo fight or was it in fact heart? I don’t feel Victor is a quitter, his achilles heal was his “un-upbringing” and his fear of a future full of uncertainty. This young man has stared adversity in the face throughout his whole life and he has never quit on life nor his siblings. If he had quit, he wouldn’t be in Oxnard California where he is today. He wouldn’t be a former World Champion or still ranked top 6 according to ESPN. Victor would either be on the streets in Garden City or dead, if he were a quitter.
Yes he said no mas against Maidana but the kid was only 22 years old. He never had a proper upbringing and he literally watched as his parents QUIT and walked away from him and his siblings. He’s had to basically build himself and his family from the ground up. Try to picture yourself 12 years old, standing on a desolate road and as you see the horizon in the distance, you see your parents slowly fade away, never to see them again. I know that’s not how it happened but sometimes perception to a 12 year old is more brutal than a million people thinking you quit.
We look at fighters such as Ali with a broken jaw, Margarito with his broken orbital bone. We look at the Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward wars. Or even Bradley with his supposed dual broken feet, who defiantly came out in a wheelchair proudly, with belts in hand.
These are our heroes of boxing, but where are they now? Ali suffers from Parkinsons and possibly Dimentia, could the extra damage he took on the jaw have caused his current health issues? We don’t know. Margarito has been sent into retirement. Im not saying it was 100% because of the broken orbital bone but, he sure did take a second beating on it in the rematch against Cotto. Gatti is somewhere in a no mans land because the Brazlian Government is too inept to determine his cause of death and Mickey Ward is working in his local Gym living his life quietly. While everyone remembers the OLD Mickey, not many know who Mickey is today. I’m sure he will admit, he is a little punch drunk from his brutal wars. Especially with Gatti and Espinoza. Bradley? We will have to wait and see where his warrior mentality will take him.
No, Victor is not a quitter. His jaw was broke and every time he was hit, it effected him. It didn’t daze him but you could see the pain on his face every time Josesito connected. Could Josesito literally KO Ortiz? I don’t think so, not on that night anyway but, he found another way to win, break his jaw. After hearing what Victor had to go through after the fight, a Titanium plate, 3 Screws and his mouth wired shut, it sounds like Victor took an awful beating. In fact it may have been in his best interest to stop the fight. Who knows what permanent damage he suffered or how much more damage would have been done if he would have continued.
Boxing is a business and if Victor cannot continue his career, he probably doesn’t have too many options to fall back on. Once he can no longer fight, he not only loses his purse and PPV money but also his endorsements, which could possibly amount to more than his purses and PPV over the lifetime of his career. Today you must play the game smart, and if he in fact knew his jaw was broken, then wouldn’t you say it would be time to say “no mas” and call it day? In the end, all of the glory that you once had in your heyday of boxing and all of your followers will eventually move on, and what will Victor have left?
Today, all sports are under scrutiny for long term health effects. We used to look at Football players as quitters if they didn’t enter the football game after a hard hit. We have goons in Hockey who’s sole purpose it is to take out the other teams best player. Now, we are learning about the long term health issues that many players are suffering from repeated head trauma. What about MMA, Rugby, wrestling? I believe Boxing should have the same if not more visibility as other sports in this aspect.
Miguel Cotto put it the best on Max Kellerman’s FaceOff with Antonio Margarito. When he was asked by Max what he thought about Margarito fighting Pacquiao with a broken orbital bone, his reply, “Stupid”. Miguel then explained how his health is the most important, because in the end, who is going to take care of his family if not him? Today, Victor is in the crosshairs of scrutiny but as time passes and the long term health effect issue becomes more relevant, I am almost certain boxers are becoming more educated about their health. This is becoming more visual with the advancement of technology than let say 30 years ago within the boxing community.
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