The grinder from Tijuana scored a UD10 with a KD in the ninth over Juan Carlos Sánchez, Jr. last night on beIN Sports Español. I see nobody was minding the shop to do a RBR in my absence. :nono Russell had shot me a PM (which I didn't get to until this morning ) asking whether Zurdo was a value bet at ~ +130. This was my belated reply: Ortega is trained by former straw-weight contender Julio César "Gato" Félix (19-4 [8], active 2007-2013) whose roster is expanding rapidly to absorb most of Tijuana's best young budding and debuting talents. He was 45-5 in the amateurs, impressive given his style and the notorious toughness of the Mexican scene. His gas tank and chin along with his deceptively heavy-handed and hard-nosed approach help even the playing field against more athletically inclined opponents, but his ceiling is probably still well short of being able to compete with the division's kingpins (the Jackals, Wake, Quigg, etc) and he would IMO be grist to mill for his fast-rising countryman Rey Vargas, also 25, and whose best result to date is an exact replica of Edivaldo's current 2nd-best (both defeating Christian Esquivel by TKO3). Vargas has loads of talent, is at least as proficient if not more than Ortega in every category, and has Nacho Beristain in his corner. With all due respect to Félix, that's like having the best Pee Wee football coach in your small town up against Vince Lombardi. Even though Sánchez was only 2-1 at the weight as of yesterday, beating him ought to propel Ortega up the rankings. Sánchez was previously #11 in the WBO, unranked in the WBA or IBF top 15, and #30 in the WBC - one spot behind Ortega, #29, his only major org ranking.
Yeah, it would be great to see him step up against some of Mexico's best. Ruiz or Ceja, if they aren't bound for a rubber match would be very telling steps up in class for El Indio. ...and they would be incredibly action-packed encounters. :bbb
He baited Sánchez brilliantly into that knockdown. Shame there was so little time left on the clock or he probably would've gotten the KO9.
Some more Ortega bouts... vs. Christian Esquivel - 2nd best victory to date: [yt]S9_CpevFssM[/yt] Now an opponent, Esquivel was then a dangerous spoiler, whose only prior losses were to current or former world titlists (Yamanaka & Tuñacao) and then-unbeaten future Japanese bantamweight champ Omori. vs. Rey Pérez - 3rd best victory to date: [yt]0zKXO8gKldA[/yt] The rangy Filipino is a tough out, and has gone the distance with decent hitters like Jaguarcito Gutiérrez, Hugo Fidel Cazares, Marvin Mabait, Nobuo Nashiro and Chris Avalos. The only person besides Ortega to stop him was Jessie Magdaleno and it took him two rounds longer. The loss to Ortega was a retirement and not a knockout but Ortega did put him on the deck and punish his body enough for him to quit. vs. Enrique Bernache - 4th best victory to date (interview & HL): [yt]h9IVjES1A2o[/yt] ...another toughie. Bernache has only been stopped twice in 29 matches, by huge punchers. He also has some nice domestic scalps and held Raul Hirales to a MD and knocked Daniel Rosas down in a UD loss. vs. Jesús "Piriguas" López: [yt]RSErVHAddKI[/yt] Note: this is listed incorrectly on BoxRec. They erroneously list Ortega as having fought a "Jesus Lopez Armenta" hailing from Baja California and making his pro debut on March 22 of 2012. In fact, he fought veteran Jesús "Piriguas" López - himself from Baja California, but as of that date sporting a record of 6-7-1 (http://boxrec.com/boxer/266167) and coming off a rubber match win over Jose Guadalupe Tapia. Some editor at BR seems to have invented a completely different person in the mistaken belief that Ortega fought someone other than Piriguas - but, uh, look at the video and note that it says "Piriguas" on his trunks (and compare his face with the pic on López's page on BR...and ignore the fact that he doesn't yet have the gloves tat on his left shoulder) - definitely him. :huh Regardless of the victim's identity, evidences the cumulative thudding damage Ortega's fists can do. Very much in the Margarito and Segura mold.
Eh, you could definitely make a case...and you can absolutely say that some lollygagging officiating cost him a chance to finish. Zurdo pitched forward and got hung on the middle rope with somewhere between 16 and 15 seconds left on the clock and way lying flat on the canvas between 15 and 14. (30:54 of the video) Humberto Olivares gave Sánchez, by my estimation, an eleven-second count, and then it took a long time until his gum shield was put in. Time in was called at 31:22/23 - nearly thirty seconds after Sánchez was first "down". :think Of course, there were only a few seconds in which Ortega would have really had to work even had there not been the gum shield delay, so... :conf
I've heard of the practice but didn't realize it was particularly widespread, even in Mexico with its comparatively lax oversight.
Dont know a thing about him but if hes half as exciting as the most famous "El Indio " Ortega from Tijuana then hes certainly someone i'll gladly follow. Good thread IB.
