Ortiz flooring fellow nice Flash Elorde in January 1966. Picture by Herb Scharfman/ Sports activities Imagery/ Getty Photos
One of many most interesting all-around fighters ever produced by the boxing-crazy island of Puerto Rico was born 86 years in the past at this time.
Carlos Ortiz was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on September 9, 1936. He began his skilled profession in 1955 with a first-round knockout win in New York Metropolis, the place he campaigned most of his life. 4 years later, he had amassed a file of 30-2 when he took on Kenny Lane in a rematch of a earlier majority choice loss. This time he stopped Lane in two rounds and within the course of he grew to become junior welterweight champion of the world.
He misplaced and regained that title in 1960 and 1961 respectively, as a part of a trilogy in opposition to Italy’s Duilio Loi wherein the Puerto Rican champ received the primary struggle after which the rubber match.
Solely three fights after that, Ortiz traveled to Las Vegas to choice Joe Brown and take his Ring light-weight belt, which he would defend in opposition to Teruo Kosaka, Doug Valliant, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde and his outdated foe Kenny Lane earlier than surrendering it and regaining it instantly in opposition to Panamanian nice Ismael Laguna in two grudge matches.
After a non-title draw in opposition to defensive wizard Nicolino Locche in Argentina, Ortiz defended his belt 5 instances in opposition to the likes of Elorde, Laguna, Johnny Bizzarro and Sugar Ramos (twice) earlier than surrendering it to Teo Cruz in 1968, in an upset.
Cruz had ten extra straight wins earlier than shedding to future light-weight champ Ken Buchanan and subsequently retiring in 1972. His loss to Buchanan in six rounds was the primary time Ortiz did not reply the ultimate bell in a bout, and solely one among his different six loses was by unanimous choice (the remaining had been majority or break up verdicts).
Ortiz completed his profession with a file of 61-7 with 30 knockouts. He died on June 13, 2022 in New York at age 85. He had been inducted into the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame in 1991, and remains to be thought-about top-of-the-line Puerto Rican fighters ever together with Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfredo Gómez, Hector Camacho, José Torres, Edwin Rosario and Wilfred Benitez, amongst others.
