A friend of mine told me today he was friends with Billy Bello, a prospect who died of a drug overdose two weeks after losing a close split decision to Ortega in 1962. I told him about how Ortega was a great non champion, but thats all i really know about him....that and hie has a book. Can anyone tell me more about El Indio?
One of the last real 'wild west' boxers. Him and his brother used to travel all around looking for fights. Highly recommend his bout with Paret - it's one of the best ever caught on film. Insane exchanges.
The best WW to never win a world title and was also known for being the most exciting fighter of his era. Almost all of his filmed fights were nothing but slugfests. Fought everyone such as Kid Gavilan, Emile Griffith, Benny Paret, Nino Benvenuti, Carmen Basilio, Luis Ferderico Thompson, Florentino Fernandez, Denny Moyer, Ralph Dupas. And to top it all off he was a really tough SOB with only 2 stoppages out of his 39 losses.
Just to get an idea how exciting he was. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
He was a very rugged perennial contender of the late 50s through early 60s, whose style was a somewhat unorthodox mix of boxing & swarming. His record is a virtual who's who of top WWs & even some MWs from that time frame. His biggest wins were over Kid Gavilan (effectively ending Gavi's career as a top flight opponent) & Benny Paret x2, the 2nd of which occurred while Paret was champ (but in a non-title fight). He lost a competitive fight to an up-&-coming Emile Griffith that officially ended in a SD, although I thought Griffith deserved a UD. In Ortega's lone title shot vs. an improved Griffith, he withered surprisingly quickly under Griffith's persistent pressure & body attack, & suffered a severe beating from the 7th round until the fight was belatedly stopped in the 12th. By that time, he'd already been in countless wars & I've always wondered if perhaps they didn't catch up w/ him @the worst possible time.
He fought essentially everybody at that time, a concept so foreign to today's fighters. He might have lost some, but always gave a great account of himself, and won a few big fights, too. He's so much fun to watch, a little bit of everything, though not a ton of power.
I’ve seen it written that Gaspar had more prime-time televised fights than anyone in boxing history. Gillette should have given him a lifetime supply of razors as many times as he appeared on their sponsored series. Ortega was absolutely perfect for TV: Just about guaranteed action, wasn’t a big hitter and had a strong chin, so he was likely to fill the television slot with rounds. He’s a marvel to watch, pleasing to the eye and gritty as they come. In the later era of split championships he’d have surely won a belt.
