Victor Ortiz v Luis Collazo: Fight Preview

By Boxing News - 12/30/2013 - Comments

ortiz1By Sevak Sarkisian: Former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-4-2-22ko’s) will be making his long awaited return to the ring on January 30th at the Barclays center in Brooklyn New York. He will take on fellow former welterweight titlist Luis Collazo (34-5 17ko’s). The fight will be aired live on Fox sports and is an important fight for both fighters.

Victor Ortiz has not fought since June of 2012 and he’s looking to make a strong statement in his return bout by facing a fighter of Collazo’s caliber. Around 2008, Ortiz was regarded as a hot rising prospect in the 140lb division. However, in his first major step up in competition he ended up getting pummeled by Marcos Maidana and chose not to continue in round six. That incident somewhat took the luster out of Ortiz’s potential at the time but it did not stop him from fulfilling his dream of becoming a world champion.

In 2011 Ortiz moved up to the welterweight division and beat the undefeated (at the time) Andre Berto for the WBC strap. However, since than Ortiz hasn’t tasted any success in the ring losing back to back fights followed by a long layoff. Physically speaking I always thought Ortiz had it all. He has great punching power, decent speed, good physical strength and reflexes. However, he lacks some boxing IQ and has proven that he is mentally unstable and we simply don’t know which Ortiz will come into the ring, the one that Beat Andre Berto or the one that showed up against Maidana and ended up checking out of the fight. That is something that we will find out on January 30th. But one thing is clear, Ortiz brings excitement each and every time he fights.

On the other hand, Luis Collazo is an experienced veteran having been in the ring with a handful of top names including Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley. Many fans and media members believe Collazo deserved the decision against Hatton and Berto. Those were both close fights and in many people’s eyes, Collazo was the first to defeat both Hatton and Berto. Collazo possesses good boxing skills and defense. He also fights out of the southpaw stance just like Victor Ortiz. He has a good chin and hasn’t taken too much punishment in his career.

In my opinion, this is a good match-up for both men, especially at this stage of their careers. It’s a crossroads fight between two former champions and the winner will certainly move on to bigger and better things.

This writer can be reached on Twitter @Sev_S7



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