Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
WBN Editor
Lopez claims hollow victory in California
Victor Ortiz’s mental strength is under question yet again
as the former WBC welterweight champion quit on his stool after nine rounds, despite
being ahead 87-84 on my scorecard and with all three judges at The Staples Center.
The 25 year-old, who has had his attitude quizzed on more
than one occasion, claimed a broken jaw at the beginning of the round and may now
see his WBC light-middleweight title bout against Saul Alvarez on September 15
scrapped.
Ortiz had been on top for the most part in the fight and
clearly had the superior power of the two fighters, with Lopez only having
sparing success as the Riverside fighter clinched when hurt up close on many
occasions.
A punch to the back of the head by Ortiz saw the bout halted
for a couple of minutes in the fifth and at that point it looked like the ‘Vicious’ one
would take Lopez out in the mid-to-late rounds until the injury ended the fight
prematurely.
It is too early to tell if Lopez has now earned himself a
shot at Alvarez’s title and whether Ortiz could sell a pay-per-view with his
reputation for finding a way out cropping up again to haunt him is up for debate yet again.
Alvarez, who was ringside just two rows back, looked on
bemused as Ortiz signalled that the fight was over and may now have to find
another opponent for the fourth time following the injuries to Paul Williams
and James Kirkland.