By Osman Rodriguez
BoxingScene.com posted a recent interview where former champion Victor Ortiz said he was willing to face anyone from "140 to 150." Ortiz is scheduled to return on June 23rd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. He was going to face Andre Berto in a rematch, but last week it was revealed that Berto tested positive for a banned steroid in a random drug test administered by VADA [Voluntary Anti-Drug Assocication].
Ortiz's comments caught the attention of top junior middleweight Erislandy "The Punisher" Lara (16-1-1, 11KOs).
With the recently posted news that Ortiz could possibly face Josesito Lopez on the June date, Lara contacted BoxingScene to present another possible road for Ortiz to take.
"I would jump at the opportunity to fight Ortiz. I would be willing to get down to 150 pounds on June 23 to fight Ortiz. I just fought and still in shape so if nobody at 154 will fight me - I'm willing to go down and weaken myself for a big fight. Can you think of bigger and better name that would be willing to fight Ortiz on 4 weeks notice?," stated Lara.
"Golden Boy promotes us both and it should be a fairly easy fight to make if Victor Ortiz wants to face me. I'd fight him right-handed if that would make him more comfortable to accept my challenge [Lara laughed]."