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Ortiz comments on post-fight interview

Fighters Network
30
Jun

Victor Ortiz was thrilling in defeat when he was stopped by Marcos Maidana after a six-round shootout that featured five knockdowns at L.A.'s Staples Center on Saturday.

However, the 140-pound prospect's post-fight interview with HBO commentator Max Kellerman turned more heads than his gutsy display of power punching during the slugfest.

When Kellerman asked Ortiz what finally convinced him to stop fighting in the sixth round, the 22-year-old fighter said:

“I was hurt, I'm not going to go out on my back; I'm not going to lay down for nobody. I'd rather stop while I'm ahead. That way I can speak well when I'm older.”



When Ortiz was asked to give his thoughts while watching a replay of the final exchanges of the fight, he replied:

“We'll see what happens from here on out (in regard to his future in the ring). I'm young, but I don't think I deserve to be getting beat up like this so I have a lot of thinking to do.”

Those comments had fans and people in the boxing industry buzzing about Ortiz's dedication to the sport Sunday and Monday. Many saw Ortiz's post-fight interview as an admission that he didn't have the heart to be in such a taxing and brutal sport.

Ortiz spoke out to clear the air about those comments in a press release that was put out by his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, on Tuesday.

“I made some comments after the fight that were an emotional response to the loss,” Ortiz said. “I take full responsibility for my mistakes and actions, but I didn't mean what I said. I am young, have things to learn and I guarantee you, I will be a world champion, mark my words. Just watch me.”

Ortiz also reiterated that he did not box the correct strategy against Maidana, a KO artist who had stopped 24 of 26 opponents.

“I didn't fight the right fight and I didn't execute the correct game plan to beat Maidana,” Ortiz said from his home in Oxnard, Calif. “I will learn from the mistakes I made on Saturday and not make the simple mistakes again, like trying to slug when I should box. I promise that next time, I will be more focused.”

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer hinted that Ortiz may not have had all of his wits about him when he conducted the controversial interview with Kellerman because of the punishment the fighter absorbed from Maidana's legal and illegal punches.

“Victor suffered from being hit by several illegal blows to the back of the head and was sent to the hospital after the fight for a post-fight check up as a precaution,” Shaefer said. “He was there until close to 3:00 a.m. for testing and, although he is thought to have suffered a concussion, was released from the hospital.

“We know that Victor will be back in a world title fight soon. He was leading on the scorecards before the ringside physician stopped the fight, but this is boxing and the fight ended the way it did. He had a tough fight, but we are confident he will now rebound from it.”

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