Bio

The top junior welterweight prospect in boxing today, ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz has risen above a difficult upbringing to become a fighter many see as a future world champion.

Introduced to boxing by his father at the age of seven, Ortiz and his siblings soon had to deal with life on their own after both their parents left.  Resilient and determined to make something of his life, the 12-year old Ortiz worked in the cornfields to make ends meet. By 13, he was taken in by the Ford family and it took two years for him to be reunited with his older sister, who took custody of him.

At this point, Ortiz was making a lot of noise in the amateur boxing world, and he eventually made it to the 2004 Olympic trials.  And though he fell short of making the Olympic team, later that year he was in the ring making his pro debut, stopping Raul Montes in a single round.

Six more wins followed before he suffered the only loss of his pro career on June 3, 2005 when he was disqualified in the first round against Corey Alarcon for what was controversially ruled an illegal blow when the two broke from a clinch.

Undeterred, Ortiz lived up to his nickname ‘Vicious’ in the ring over the next two years as he piled up win after win.  By 2007, he was ready to make his move on the big guns at 140 pounds, and with a dominating 10th round TKO of Emmanul Clottey and a spectacular first round knockout of former world champion Carlos Maussa in front of a packed house at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Ortiz had arrived.

2008 kicked off with a bang for the Kasnas native, as he knocked out Dairo Esalas in five rounds on the Oscar de la Hoya-Steve Forbes undercard on May 3, 2008, and on September 13th, Golden Boy Promotions’ newest signee returns to the ring to face an opponent to be announced.

Ortiz is currently ranked sixth in the world by the WBA and ninth by the WBO.