Former Welterweight belt holders “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (32-6-3, 25 KOs) and Devon Alexander “The Great” (27-4-1, 14 KOs) faced off in something of a crossroads clash for both fighters on Saturday, February 17, 2018.
Entering the bout, Alexander faced inactivity, fighting only twice since 2014 and recently overcoming an addiction to pain killers, while Ortiz suffered from inconsistency, losing four of his last seven fights, albeit to world-class opposition.
The two southpaws battled on even terms through the first two stanzas with Alexander drawing first blood, a small cut on the hair line that appeared to have no effect on Ortiz.
Alexander “The Great” landed a good right hook in the third however, that quickly caused swelling to appear under Ortiz’s left eye.
Through six rounds Alexander was having it almost entirely his way, landing two and three punch combinations on his rival, seeming to accumulate a considerable advantage on points in front of the pro-Ortiz crowd.
By Round 10 Alexander remained in command and appeared to be the fresher of the two though “Vicious” Victor continued to press forward in search of a shot that could turn the tide in his favor.
Ortiz continued that search until the final bell however it was not meant to be and at the end of twelve rounds it was seemed that Alexander had clearly put on a boxing clinic.
The judges viewed things quite differently and submitted scores of 115-113 for Ortiz, 114-114 and 114-114 resulting in a majority draw.
Photo by Ruben Ramirez
