Ive been in alot of street fights but never in the boxing ring so Im the last guy to question someone's heart. I also take up for atheletes all the time so dont think Im some trash talking hater. Still, I think Ortiz quit. Even moreso, I think he's just mentally unstable. I actually thought right off the bat in the 1st or 2nd round he looked like he was launching his head into Lopez on the ropes just like he did Floyd. Did anyone else notice that? Then he punches Lopez in back of the head. I also thought he threw a few of them througout the bout even after getting warned. Now, lets get to the final question on him quitting or not. Its obviously a winnable fight at the end of the 9th. You only have 3 rounds left and a major pay day looming. Chances are you are going to get the decision in a close fight. All you have to do is go out, box, run, & jab for 3 rounds. My thing is this. He's not a ***** for quitting. He's a ***** for the way he quit. He wanted out. If anything, I think any fighter wouldve went out in the 10th to see if he could take it or not. You try to go out. Then it ifs too bad, you can quit then. Worst of all his corner was holding him back. They were trying to stop him. Im not even sure if his corner was telling him not to quit as much as they were just telling him to "hold on, lets talk about this". Instead, he seemed like a very scared kid in a panic. Like people trying to hold him back and he's trying to break free and scream out "help"! "You have to stop the fight"! It turned me off so much to see that. If its me, I go out for the 10th. I see if I can stick & move. If he hits me with a few shots that I cant take, then I can quit. Shoot, half of the round might go by without Lopez landing a meaningful shot and then you might start changing your mind like "I only got 2.5 rounds left". Ortiz was also fighting his best when he was boxing and not getting involved in the brawls. I think his corner was shocked by him saying he wanted to stop and they wanted to talk for a second. You could even wait until the round starts and have the doctor check it out. You dont just scream out to the ref like you wanna quit. It was so disturbing, espically when you have turned your career around and had a major payday next. Bottom line is he wanted out and he didnt wanna go through the fire he had to go through to win that fight. His head got so cocky after the Berto fight and he didnt think Lopez was on his level. By the time the fight ended he was in shock of how much he was getting lit up and just wanted out. All Im asking is for dude to try. Just go out in the 10th and see what happens. People act like its either or. Like he quits when he did or he has to fight the full 3 rounds. NO. You try and see how it goes. Thats why I say he quit. He didnt try and most of all he paniced & screamed out. It was almost like he was a mental patient who his corner was trying to lock down in a straight jacket and he was going crazy trying to break free and yelling out "help, theyre trying to kill me"! Ill never back him again and he will regret that decision.
Tl dr Could he have continued? yes So did he quit? yes Would it have been wise to continue with the jaw in the state is was? no not really If he had continued the fight probaly would have got stopped anyway... and he would have had an even more messed up mouth. His Maidana quit was worse... If he hadn't have quit against Maidana this would have seemed like a legit quit and nobody would have been fussed.
OK... Do we know at what point the sustained the injury? He may have been thinking this for a few rounds, we can't say.
