By Keith Idec
NEW YORK — Manny Pacquiao gives Victor Ortiz a much better shot at upsetting Floyd Mayweather Jr. than the handicappers who’ve made Mayweather about a 6-1 favorite prior to their Sept. 17 fight in Las Vegas.
“Ortiz has a big chance to win the fight,” Pacquiao said after a press conference at Chelsea Piers to promote his own welterweight championship match against Juan Manuel Marquez.
When asked to pick a winner, Pacquiao said, “It’s hard to say. Both fighters have advantages. Floyd’s faster than Ortiz and Ortiz is stronger than Floyd, so it depends on how they train hard for the fight.”
Pacquiao has never shared a ring with Mayweather, whom virtually every boxing fan worldwide wants to see Pacquiao fight. Though they wore headgear and much bigger gloves, Pacquiao has encountered Ortiz, a fellow southpaw, at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif.
“For me,” Pacquiao said, “[Ortiz has] a big chance because I sparred with Ortiz and he’s strong. He’s a puncher.”
Roach respects Ortiz, too, but he seemed less optimistic about him upsetting Mayweather when they fight for Ortiz’s WBC welterweight title at MGM Grand.
“Victor’s a big, strong kid,” Roach said. “He’s a good puncher. You’ve got to give him a shot. Obviously, Mayweather’s a great boxer and you’ve got to favor him a little bit. But he’s been off for a long time and I think Victor has a slight shot of pulling the upset off.”
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, was less diplomatic regarding the 24-year-old Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs), who would ruin what could become the most lucrative event in boxing history if he upsets the unbeaten Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs).
“He has no chance,” Arum said of Ortiz. “A fighter never knows he has no chance, but he has no chance.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, NJ., and BoxingScene.com.