By: Sean Crose
The 32-6-3 Victor Ortiz returned to the ring on Saturday to face the 36-6-1 Robert Guerrero on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas fight. These two men were pretty big names in the welterweight division not all that long ago. Indeed, both fighters were in pay per view events against the great Floyd Mayweather. Guerrero was easily handled by Mayweather, while Ortiz went out in spectacular fashion, after Mayweather sucker punched him in response to a blatant Ortiz foul. Their welterweight battle Saturday was scheduled for 10 rounds.
Both men had moments in the first, then traded well in the second. That round ended with both men teeing off. Entertaining stuff. The third continued to be a high octane affair. These were two individuals who knew their stuff and were giving it their all. The fourth round may as well have been fought in a phone booth, as they exchanged toe to toe. The fifth saw Ortiz starting to control the tempo. Each man was looking beat up in the sixth, but they continued to engage in a hard core chess match.
The fighters were clearly tired in the seventh. The eighth saw each man grinding away. These guys may have been over the hill, but they remained highly skilled and were extremely determined. Guerrero and Ortiz were clearly drained by the ninth – yet they kept fighting. The crowd booed, although it was worth wondering what it had expected from two veteran fighters. The final round saw the exhausted combatants continue to give it their all – and a close range. The judges ultimately ruled in favor of Guerrero.
