Nobody would have blamed Joseph Adorno had he chosen to go any other route this weekend.
The unbeaten lightweight prospect has not fought in more than 15 months and barely escaped with a draw on that occasion. Two fights have fallen through since then, each time met with the demand to line up another, no matter how tough.
Adorno’s wish was granted as he is matched aggressively with fellow unbeaten prospect Jamaine Ortiz (14-0, 8KOs) in a scheduled eight-round lightweight bout this Saturday, live on ESPN+ from Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. The bout precedes an ESPN telecast headlined by Mexico’s Emanuel Navarrete (33-1, 28KOs) in the first defense of his WBO featherweight title versus Puerto Rico’s Christopher ‘Pitufo’ Diaz (26-2, 16KOs).
“Me and Pitufo probably have the toughest fights out of all the Puerto Ricans on this card,” Adorno told BoxingScene.com. “A lot of fighters coming off of a draw or a long layoff, they get a tune-up fight. I’m coming off of a draw AND a long layoff but I didn’t get or ask for no tune-up fight.
“I’m fighting another ranked fighter and I’m here to beat him.”
Adorno (14-0-1, 12KOs) saw bouts with Alexis del Bosque and Avery Sparrow both fall through during fight week at separate points in 2020. The Allentown, Pennsylvania wound up missing weight by one pound and was unable to negotiate post weigh-in terms to keep a June date with del Bosque. Efforts to bring him back last October 9—on the same Las Vegas show where Navarrete outpointed Ruben Villa to win the WBO featherweight title—proved futile when unreliable Avery Sparrow bailed just days before the fight.
The string of frustrations left Adorno forced to sit on an eight-round draw with Hector Garcia for the past 14 months. All that mattered to the 21-year-old was getting back in the ring against the most credible opponent to answer the call.
“My manager, David McWater kept it real with me, he told me everyone they were chasing turned down the fight,” notes Adorno. “I told him, ‘Don’t hold back, just get me anyone who thinks they can beat me.’ This guy (Ortiz) agreed, I signed the contract before he could change his mind, he signed the contract and here we are.
“I’m not here to take baby steps. Every hot Puerto Rican fighter is on the show this weekend. You got (super middleweight prospect Edgar Berlanga), Pitufo, me, Xander (Zayas, unbeaten welterweight prospect), Josue (Vargas, rising junior welterweight). I know I have to go show out. More people than ever will be watching. This is my chance to shine.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
