Comments Thread For: "Fighting Words" - Ortiz's Good Move Runs Into a Runner

[MC Hammer]

Great article. A lot of people seem to want to use that fight to justify their dislike of Ortiz. You simply can't land combos on a reasonably talented Philly fighter whose only goal is to not get hit. It would have been even worse had Ortiz not pursued him (which some counter-punchers simply won't do).
Terrible fight but it didn't "expose" anything bad in Ortiz. The detractors will have to try a little harder.

I gotta see the fight (or I don't from what it sounds like), but a guy on the move who you don't have to worry about anything coming back from is a target. If he's not showing that he's truly ready to counter, which calls for some staying in the cut, then hawk him down and give him hell. Its only so much room in a ring and exits are able to be cut off, especially for a 200+lb man. I know a stinker, and you can't hold that against the other guy, but something has to occur to show you took a chance to end the BS

[Redd Foxx]

I gotta see the fight (or I don't from what it sounds like), but a guy on the move who you don't have to worry about anything coming back from is a target. If he's not showing that he's truly ready to counter, which calls for some staying in the cut, then hawk him down and give him hell. Its only so much room in a ring and exits are able to be cut off, especially for a 200+lb man. I know a stinker, and you can't hold that against the other guy, but something has to occur to show you took a chance to end the BS

Ortiz is too wise to flail at a runner. Scott wasn't just shelling up, he was actively retreating and occasionally bursting into a strike (including a wicked headbutt that stunned Ortiz). You can't run while throwing combos. Not the way Malik was retreating. Missing shots just tires you out and Luis was careful not to wear himself out, only to be vulnerable in later rounds.

Ortiz won by a wide margin. As I said, people trying to blame this on him are just showing their bias against him.

[The D3vil]

Ortiz is too wise to flail at a runner. Scott wasn't just shelling up, he was actively retreating and occasionally bursting into a strike (including a wicked headbutt that stunned Ortiz). You can't run while throwing combos. Not the way Malik was retreating. Missing shots just tires you out and Luis was careful not to wear himself out, only to be vulnerable in later rounds.

Ortiz won by a wide margin. As I said, people trying to blame this on him are just showing their bias against him.

Exactly, the guys I saw laying into him on Twitter were Joshua stans

[Redd Foxx]

Exactly, the guys I saw laying into him on Twitter were Joshua stans

And, that's the thing. There's no reason to hate on Ortiz himself. He's never looked bad or anything less than a top HW. But, there's fans of other fighters that will instantly dislike him because he's a threat to, or draws attention away from, their favorite guy.

How many guys like both Fury and Wilder? That's what I'm talking about.

[LoadedWraps]

Great article. A lot of people seem to want to use that fight to justify their dislike of Ortiz. You simply can't land combos on a reasonably talented Philly fighter whose only goal is to not get hit. It would have been even worse had Ortiz not pursued him (which some counter-punchers simply won't do).
Terrible fight but it didn't "expose" anything bad in Ortiz. The detractors will have to try a little harder.

[BM dnobagaV]

He should have paid that clown Scott to take a dive, like Wilder did

This.......

[LetOutTheCage]

Ortiz is too wise to flail at a runner. Scott wasn't just shelling up, he was actively retreating and occasionally bursting into a strike (including a wicked headbutt that stunned Ortiz). You can't run while throwing combos. Not the way Malik was retreating. Missing shots just tires you out and Luis was careful not to wear himself out, only to be vulnerable in later rounds.

Ortiz won by a wide margin. As I said, people trying to blame this on him are just showing their bias against him.

Sorry but I disagree completely. This was my first time watching Ortiz fight, he was supposed to be this monster that every other heavyweight was terrified of stepping in the ring with him...Yet he went the distance against an opponent who literally tried to get himself out of the fight multiple times. If that was one of the other top heavyweights they would have taken Scott out early.

It's all well and good saying that Ortiz was being smart with his approach but against an opponent not known for his power, unwilling to trade and looking for a way out, Ortiz needed to be aggressive and take him out early. Could just be me but that ring looked awful small, Ortiz was cutting the space well but he didn't look very sharp at all. To be honest he didn't even look in great shape.

[Redd Foxx]

Sorry but I disagree completely. This was my first time watching Ortiz fight, he was supposed to be this monster that every other heavyweight was terrified of stepping in the ring with him...Yet he went the distance against an opponent who literally tried to get himself out of the fight multiple times. If that was one of the other top heavyweights they would have taken Scott out early.

It's all well and good saying that Ortiz was being smart with his approach but against an opponent not known for his power, unwilling to trade and looking for a way out, Ortiz needed to be aggressive and take him out early. Could just be me but that ring looked awful small, Ortiz was cutting the space well but he didn't look very sharp at all. To be honest he didn't even look in great shape.

Everyone seems to know how to catch a guy whose only inclination is to evade. It's not as easy as it looks.
Kovalev couldn't do it with Chilemba and Chilemba was actually fighting him back. Same with Crawford fighting Postol. Wlad and Fury barely touched each other.

If you weren't impressed, sure, I won't fight you on that. I'm not vested in Ortiz at all. I'm saying that people are failing to understand that no one could have looked good in that scenario. When you start chasing and lunging, you open yourself to get KTFO and that's not a good look either.

[Fury4daWIN]

I don't think Ortiz looked as bad as many were making out, but he did expose a few limitations here. After failing to get at Scott's head he should have gone to the body the way Chisora did when he had him against the ropes instead of just going for the same one two. That he didn't shows a bit of a lack of ring IQ IMO. Scott may have run but there were clear opportunities where Ortiz could have seriously hurt him and didn't.

I expect him to look more his old self against a more engaging opponent.

[LetOutTheCage]

Everyone seems to know how to catch a guy whose only inclination is to evade. It's not as easy as it looks.
Kovalev couldn't do it with Chilemba and Chilemba was actually fighting him back. Same with Crawford fighting Postol. Wlad and Fury barely touched each other.

If you weren't impressed, sure, I won't fight you on that. I'm not vested in Ortiz at all. I'm saying that people are failing to understand that no one could have looked good in that scenario. When you start chasing and lunging, you open yourself to get KTFO and that's not a good look either.

I understand you're point but Ortiz didn't need to lunge in, he was cutting the ring quite well but was failing to capitalize on it. Ortiz needed to pick up his pace a bit, be a bit sharper with his punches because in many instances his shots were only just missing their mark.

I think the likes of Joshua, Wilder etc would have been quicker and sharper than Ortiz was and would almost certainly have stopped that version of Scott in quick fashion.

I would say that I was disgusted by Scott's antics early on, he was desperately looking for a way out early on in the fight. He shouldn't be allowed to fight again.