By TMZ Sports
As reported a few weeks ago, former WBC welterweight world champion Victor Ortiz (31-6-2, 24 KOs) was charged with 2 misdemeanor counts of DUI stemming from his September arrest.
TMZ Sports broke the story ... Ortiz was arrested on Sept. 24th in Ventura County, California around 7 PM when cops pulled over his BMW and smelled booze.
Officials stated that Ortiz's blood alcohol count was MORE than .15 ... which is a huge deal because in California, that triggers a "special allegation" which carries a tougher penalty if convicted ... more jail, higher fines, etc.
Ortiz managed to strike a plea deal in his case ... and he's on thin ice for the next 3 years.
Ortiz caught a huge break -- cutting a deal with prosecutors in which he plead guilty to a misdemeanor DUI and in exchange the "special allegation" was dismissed.
He was sentenced to 3 years probation and 8 days in county jail -- but he'll get credit for time served for 4 days and the remaining 4 days will be served as part of a work release program.
As part of his probation, Ortiz is not allowed to patronize bars -- or places where alcohol is the main draw.
Ortiz has been out of the ring since July, when he picked up a stoppage win over Saul Corral. Prior to that, in April of last year, he was knocked out by former champion Andre Berto in their long-awaited rematch at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
There was some talk of a potential showdown in the coming months with his career rival, Brandon Rios. The feud between the two boxers has been ongoing for several years, and for the first time there are no network or promotional boundaries to prevent the fight from taking place - and they both compete in the welterweight division.
Rios is now in the running to fight former champion Danny Garcia - and Ortiz's future, at least in boxing, is still unknown.