By Ian S Palmer
Two former world champions and southpaws will clash on the Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas undercard in Las Vegas this Saturday, August 21st when former four-division champ Robert Guerrero of Gilroy, California takes on Victor Ortiz of Garden City, Kansas. The 10-round welterweight bout can be seen live in North America on pay-per-view while fans in the UK can see it on Sky Sports. Guerrero’s last outing was a 10-round unanimous decision win over Gerald Thomas in September, 2019 while Ortiz last fought in February, 2018 when he battled to a 12-round draw with Devon Alexander.
The 34-year-old Ortiz enters the bout with a record of 32-6-3 with 25 Kos and he’s gone 6-5-1in his last 12 contests. Ortiz has been a bit of an enigma during his pro career with wins against Emmanuel Clottey, Mike Arnaoutis, Antonio Diaz, Nate Campbell and Vivian Harris, but he’s been stopped by Floyd Mayweather, Josesito Lopez, Marcos Maidana, Luis Collazo and Andre Berto and dropped a six-round disqualification to Corey Alarcon. He’s also fought draws with Marvin Cordova Jr. and Lamont Peterson.
Ortiz’s heart has sometimes been questioned and his chin definitely isn’t his strong point since he’s been stopped five times in his six losses. There’s no question that he’s an exciting fighter though. When he’s determined and focused he’s a handful for any opponent and Berto found this out in their first slugfest in 2011 which Ortiz took by unanimous decision. Both boxers were decked twice each in that contest and it was one of the best fights of the year.
Fans will be happy if that version of Ortiz shows up on Saturday night but he’s had problems out of the ring lately and has been out of action for more than three-and-a-half years. Looking at the tale of the tape, Ortiz turned pro in 2004 and has 191 rounds under his belt. He’s 5-feet-9-inches tall and has a wingspan of 70 inches. Ortiz’s knockout ratio is currently 61 percent and he does have pretty good power. He’s a former WBC Welterweight Champion as he took Berto’s title from him in their first fight. However, the then lost it to Mayweather by controversial KO in September, 2011 in his first of three consecutive losses by stoppage.
Former multi-division world champion Guerrero is now 38 years old and after losing three fights in a row and four of seven between 2013 and 2017, had won three in a row against limited opposition before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world. These defeats were to David Peralta by split decision as well as unanimous decisions to former world champions Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman and Floyd Mayweather Jr and a third-round stoppage at the hands of Omar Figueroa Jr.
Still, Guerrero has a fine record of 36-6-1 though with 20 Kos. His other loss came back in 2005 when he dropped a 12-round split decision to Gamaliel Diaz. He did manage to beat Aron Martinez in 2015 by split decision in a tough bout in which he had to pick himself up from the canvas in. Guerrero has solid victories over the likes of Secluk Aydin, Joel Casamayor, Michael Katsidis, Yoshihiro Kamegai Martin Honorio, Jason Litzau, Efren Hinojosa, and Andre Berto and has won world titles in four different weight divisions.
His lone draw was a technical decision against Julian Rodriguez in 2004 and he also has a pair of no contests on his record against Daud Yordan and Orlando Salido. Guerrero also stands 5-feet-9-inches tall and his 71-inch reach is an inch longer than Ortiz’s. Guerrero has 302 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2001 and his current knockout ratio is 44.4 per cent. He’s taken on some tough customers during his career and has quite a bit of big-fight experience.
Guerrero can take a punch as he has an excellent chin and has stopped two of his last three opponents in Hevinson Herrera and Adam Mate. He beat Herrera after a cut eye forced his corner to stop the fight and dropped Mate three times in the first two rounds before the contest was halted. Guerrero used to combine fine boxing skills and mobility with inside fighting while throwing a variety of punches and combinations from different ranges and angles. After moving up to the welterweight division though he prefers to fight mainly on the inside and maul his way into a brawl while unloading short shots and uppercuts.
Prediction…
Guerrero’s boxing skills shouldn’t be underestimated. He’s been in a few wars but can also box effectively if needed. Ortiz is more of a power puncher and even though they’re both past their prime their styles are very fan-friendly and this could erupt into a slugfest. This has the potential to be a fight-of-the-year candidate even though there’s going to be plenty of ring rust. It’s hard to predict a winner with both boxers being out of action for quite some time, but based on their past performances I’ll go with Guerrero.
