By: Jeff Townsend, Boxing writer
Bayareasportsdrive.com
02-16-09
The news seemed too good to be true. Here was a
representative from Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions announcing
that three of the hottest prospects in boxing would be fighting on a
HBO-broadcast triple bill at the HP Pavilion right here in San Jose,
California on March 7, 2009.
That is exactly what happened on Tuesday at Dave &
Buster’s in
Milpitas
when Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and “Vicious” Victor Ortiz revealed
that they would be a part of the biggest boxing event to hit the Bay
Area in decades. The announcement got even better once it was revealed
that the prospects would be matched up against quality opponents.
The HBO Boxing After Dark fight card will be
headlined by a 10 round junior middleweight match-up between power
punchers James Kirkland (24-0, 21 KOs) and Joel Julio (34-2, 31 KOs).
It seems unlikely that this fight will go to a decision and is destined
to be a classic. In one of the co-featured bouts, 2008 ESPN Prospect of
the Year “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (23-1-1, 18 KOs) will take on “Mighty”
Mike Arnaoutis (21-2-1, 10 KOs) in a 12 round junior welterweight bout.
The opening bout of the telecast will feature two-time featherweight
world champion and Gilroy-based Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (23-1-1, 16
KOs) facing off against undefeated Daud “Cino” Yordan (15-0, 10 KOs)
from Indonesia in 10 round junior lightweight bout.
For Robert Guerrero, this fight has special
meaning since he has spent his whole life in Gilroy, California which is
just 20 miles south of San Jose. Despite 25 professional fights in his
career, Guerrero has only fought one time in San Jose. He was inactive
for almost all of 2008 due to promotional issues before signing with
Golden Boy Promotions just before the end of the year. In his first
fight back from the layoff in January of 2009, Guerrero needed just one
round to knock out veteran Edel Ruiz on the undercard of Mosley-Margarito.
Asked about what it meant to him to bring a HBO
event to San Jose, Guerrero said, “I finally made it back to the bay. I
have been talking about coming back to the bay for years. In just the
second fight with Golden Boy, here I am.” Acknowledging the large
number of fight fans in the Bay Area, Guerrero said “A big HBO show
coming to San Jose for the first time is what Bay Area sports fans have
been waiting for.”
Exclusive
Interview with Victor Ortiz
NABO junior welterweight champion Victor Ortiz is
riding a wave of knockouts. Ortiz has knocked out his last seven
opponents and is gunning for another knockout against Arnaoutis.
However, he also acknowledged that Aranoutis is a tough opponent, “I’m
not expecting an easy fight but I will be ready to go 12 rounds if need
be.” Victor was kind enough to take some time and talk to us at the
conclusion of the press conference and here is what he had to say.
Jeff Townsend for Bay Area Sports Drive (JT): I
know that in the past you had trained at La Colonia Gym (in Oxnard,
California). Are you still training there?
Victor Ortiz (VO): No, it has been about a year
and a half since I left that gym. Things weren’t really working out. I
don’t need negativity coming around me. I decided to part my ways.
People weren’t too happy. It is what it is.
(JT): Was it the people or the general
environment at the gym when you talk about the negativity?
(VO): It is more the relationship between my
coach and I that wasn’t really working too well. So that was the only
negative stuff. The people there, I loved them. They were so nice.
They welcomed me like I was home. Just the issues between my coach and
myself weren’t cool. I didn’t need it, you know. I just went my own
way. They don’t like me much nowadays but that’s okay.
(JT): It is my understanding that Roberto
Garcia (former IBF Junior Lightweight World Champion)
was training you when you were at La Colonia.
(VO): That’s right.
(JT): And Daniel Garcia is now training you.
(VO): Yes, that’s right. His older brother.
(JT): How many fights have you had, fighting out
of this new gym environment?
(VO): Seven fights out of the new gym. They are
doing a great job. When I am down, they’ll talk to me. They won’t shy
away and say ‘We’ll talk about it later’. They will bring up the issue,
talk about it as a group. Kind of an inventory thing. It’s cool.
(JT): You gotta have a good support system in
boxing. So what gets you down? You seem like such a positive guy, easy
going, etc.
(VO): It is a miracle when you get me pissed
off. I handle things with a silence. Even my girl sometimes, she gets
mad at me and she goes ‘You don’t say anything!’ I’m like, ‘What do you
want me to say.’ It is what it is. One thing that really bothers me is
when someone is really fake. And I pick up the vibe and I know they are
being fake. I don’t like that. I’ll talk to you and be nice to you but
I keep my distance.
(JT): There is nothing more real than boxing.
Waking up to do roadwork…..
(VO): Yeah, my coaches took me out to the track
at 5 a.m. this morning before we left for San Jose. They killed me on
the track. I was dying but it is part of the price of being a boxer.
(JT): I know that at the end of your fights you
give a shout-out to ‘Garden City’ which I think refers to Garden City,
Kansas. What does Garden City mean to you?
(VO): It means a lot to me. I was born an hour
from Garden City, in Liberal, Kansas. I grew up in Garden City since I
was a little guy. My foster mom is there. They took custody of me when
I was 14 (years old). I was there for two years with them. Mrs. Ford,
her name is Sharon Ford and her husband John Ford. Then there’s Kelly,
Leslie, Katie and J.J. That is part of my family too. Of course, I
have my brother Demil and my sister Carmen. She has been like a mom
toward me before Mrs. Ford came into the picture. I call her Mrs. Ford
out of respect I guess.
(JT): What was the story with the other kids?
Where they also foster kids or just part of the family?
(VO): It was just their family. They adopted me
in a sense but I didn’t change my last name. I was like ‘Mrs. Ford, I
refuse.’ It is tattooed on my back (Ortiz). I was like, ‘What are we
going to do?’ She goes, ‘We could laser it off. We could put Ford on
there.’ (laughing) Victor Ford, that doesn’t sound good. She is like a
mom to me.
(JT): Do you think growing up in Kansas in the
foster home environment has given you a unique perspective on life?
(VO): It has its obstacles. There are times I
get called names just because I don’t speak like a typical Hispanic or
whatever. I get disrespected quite a bit. I get called every name in
the book. It is kind of hard because growing up with a family like that
and me being Hispanic, people just clash sometimes and want to beat you
up. Kind of learned to deal with it and shy off the shoulder. It is no
big deal though. At the end of the day, I go home and I feel good. I
put on ESPN. Last night I watched my KU Jayhawks lose but that is
okay.
(JT): Thanks for taking your time to talk with us
today Victor and good luck on March 7.
This HBO Boxing After Dark tripleheader will take
place on March 7, 2009 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California and
will be televised live at 10:00pm on the East Coast and at 10:00pm on
the West Coast which equates to a three hour tape delay.
Email Jeff with questions or comments at
jtownsend@bayareasportsdrive.com
