When the Forty-niners of the 1800's pursued affluence and prosperity in California, some were lucky enough to find it. Whether through simple panning or other methods to extract gold, people in Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, Peru and Chile arrived by the thousands and recovered gold in plentiful proportions. These Forty-niners seized an opportunity that brought more fortune than imaginable. Welterweight contender Victor Ortiz almost gave away his golden opportunity. By most accounts, Ortiz caused severe damage to his credibility, image and marketability, after losing via stoppage to Marcos Maidana in June of 2009, when he told Max Kellerman in the post-fight interview, "I don't deserve to get beat up like this
I'm not going out on my back
I'd rather just stop while I'm ahead and that way I can speak well when I'm older. I have a lot of thinking to do."
Victor has moved past that fight and post-fight statement, which, despite the fact that it came at an inopportune time from a kid that never gave the general boxing public the feeling he was a real "fighter", made sense. We see the repercussions for fighting with a "fighter's heart" on the face and speech of some of boxing's past elite and Victor consciously doesn't want to join that line-up. Can we blame him? Yes we can, and we did. He was immediately labeled as missing a heart and the thought that he could stumble upon a gold mine two years later seemed ludicrous.
Yet, despite it all, after defeating Andre Berto in one of this year's most exciting fights, Ortiz, once proclaimed to be the successor of the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, has his golden opportunity at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on September 17, 2011, when he steps inside the ring against pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather. Ortiz is a 7-1 underdog and this has been viewed as nothing more than a tune-up fight for Mayweather before taking on Manny Pacquiao next year, but that just raises one question for Ortiz. What if he already discovered his gold? What if this fight is nothing more than a formality?
Here are some facts to keep in mind. 1.) Victor will have the opportunity to be featured on four episodes of the critically acclaimed HBO 24/7 leading up to the fight where he'll be free to promote himself, his backstory, his goals and his personality. 2) This is Ortiz's biggest payday to date. 3) A win over Mayweather could garner an immediate rematch or an even bigger payday against Manny Pacquiao. 4.) A close loss to Mayweather could garner an immediate rematch or an even bigger payday against Manny Pacquiao (let's face it, Manny continuously fights opponents who have suffered recent losses to Mayweather). 5.) A loss is expected, and not just any loss, but a one-sided beatdown executed by Mayweather. Who is going to judge Ortiz for losing a lopsided decision?
The real Gold Rush for Ortiz has already happened. He discovered his gold the minute he signed his name to the fight contract. You see, the facts don't support Ortiz winning this fight. He's substantially slower than Mayweather and despite the power he'll bring into the fight, he is an easy target and has been sat down numerous times previously. Golden Boy Promotions will back him during the hype. He'll talk the talk and say all of the right things during 24/7, and at some point, the odds will illustrate some of the general public believing in his chances. But that's the thing with hype, it's illusionary.
Some Forty-Niners left California to head back home with even less than they arrived with. They weren't able to facilitate a discovery worth the trip. Ortiz will head into Las Vegas on September 17 knowing he already struck gold, regardless of the outcome. And aside from making a damaging post-fight speech, regardless of its honesty or rationale, he'll have an opportunity for much more gold ahead.