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Redemption Song
by Cuauhtemoc1502
There's a line in Bob Marley's Redemption Song that goes like this; "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our mind."
Now Marley was talking about something a little more serious than boxing but that is exactly what Victor Ortiz did on Saturday night. He freed himself from the way the media, fans and boxing world had seen him after the Maidana fight. There was this notion that the kid was a quitter, soft and weak minded. Well the irony of this fight is that he was mentally tougher than his opponent Berto that night.
Berto was a champ, more than just a hot prospect, he was the belt holder and in line to be matched up against the elite of that weight class. People were already talking about how he would do against Pacquaio. Nobody gave Ortiz a chance, I mean after his quitting against Maidana and then his lack luster performance vs Peterson, who could be blamed for thinking this?
Then on Saturday night, Ortiz came out like a man possessed, he out muscled the supposedly bigger man in Berto. Ortiz coming up from 140lbs to 147lbs, everyone thought the combination of speed and power Berto possessed would be way too much for Ortiz......it wasn't.
Ortiz was the bully, he came out and jumped right on Berto from the opening bell and made Berto take a knee in the corner after being hurt by a left hand. Ortiz would go on to score 3 official knockdowns even though some thought he scored another knockdown that wasn't counted.
He himself was knocked down twice, first one was more of a flash knockdown but the second was a devastating right hand that landed in the middle of the 6th round (which might be round of the year by the way) and got up and showed amazing heart and scored a knockdown himself with a beautiful left hook with his back on the ropes with about 10 seconds left in the round.
I believe that when Berto felt Ortiz' power, he did the same thing he did vs Collazo, he refused to step into range and into the fire. Ortiz had bullied the bully and dictated the pace and distance throughout the entire fight. It was Berto that failed mentally, not being able to answer combinations and only looking for that big right hand that had bailed him out so many times before. Even when he landed it, it wasn't enough. Ortiz got up from the shot that would surely end most fighters nights and scored a knockdown of his own to even out the round.
Ortiz learned something specifically against Peterson a fight before I believe, he understood that you cannot leave anything to the judges, that you cannot coast to a victory no matter how far ahead you think you may be. He didn't let that happen against Berto, he stood in the fire, wanting to land his left hand followed by the right hook to the head which he was penalized a point for hitting behind Berto's head on 3 occasions. Ortiz refused to lose and came out from round 1 to round 12 with fire in his eyes. He took chances, got knocked down and fought like a man with something to prove.
Ortiz played his version of his Redemption Song and he "Freed his mind" from what the media and fans had accused him of. This was a do or die fight for his career and he proved he has not only the physical tools to be one of the best welter weights in the world but that he has the mental toughness as well.
by Cuauhtemoc1502
There's a line in Bob Marley's Redemption Song that goes like this; "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our mind."
Now Marley was talking about something a little more serious than boxing but that is exactly what Victor Ortiz did on Saturday night. He freed himself from the way the media, fans and boxing world had seen him after the Maidana fight. There was this notion that the kid was a quitter, soft and weak minded. Well the irony of this fight is that he was mentally tougher than his opponent Berto that night.
Berto was a champ, more than just a hot prospect, he was the belt holder and in line to be matched up against the elite of that weight class. People were already talking about how he would do against Pacquaio. Nobody gave Ortiz a chance, I mean after his quitting against Maidana and then his lack luster performance vs Peterson, who could be blamed for thinking this?
Then on Saturday night, Ortiz came out like a man possessed, he out muscled the supposedly bigger man in Berto. Ortiz coming up from 140lbs to 147lbs, everyone thought the combination of speed and power Berto possessed would be way too much for Ortiz......it wasn't.
Ortiz was the bully, he came out and jumped right on Berto from the opening bell and made Berto take a knee in the corner after being hurt by a left hand. Ortiz would go on to score 3 official knockdowns even though some thought he scored another knockdown that wasn't counted.
He himself was knocked down twice, first one was more of a flash knockdown but the second was a devastating right hand that landed in the middle of the 6th round (which might be round of the year by the way) and got up and showed amazing heart and scored a knockdown himself with a beautiful left hook with his back on the ropes with about 10 seconds left in the round.
I believe that when Berto felt Ortiz' power, he did the same thing he did vs Collazo, he refused to step into range and into the fire. Ortiz had bullied the bully and dictated the pace and distance throughout the entire fight. It was Berto that failed mentally, not being able to answer combinations and only looking for that big right hand that had bailed him out so many times before. Even when he landed it, it wasn't enough. Ortiz got up from the shot that would surely end most fighters nights and scored a knockdown of his own to even out the round.
Ortiz learned something specifically against Peterson a fight before I believe, he understood that you cannot leave anything to the judges, that you cannot coast to a victory no matter how far ahead you think you may be. He didn't let that happen against Berto, he stood in the fire, wanting to land his left hand followed by the right hook to the head which he was penalized a point for hitting behind Berto's head on 3 occasions. Ortiz refused to lose and came out from round 1 to round 12 with fire in his eyes. He took chances, got knocked down and fought like a man with something to prove.
Ortiz played his version of his Redemption Song and he "Freed his mind" from what the media and fans had accused him of. This was a do or die fight for his career and he proved he has not only the physical tools to be one of the best welter weights in the world but that he has the mental toughness as well.
Victor is hot property.
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