Former welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz recently told how he once went into a fight without knowing the identity of his opponent, Emmanuel Clottey.

Ortiz, 37, fought Ghana’s Clottey in August 2007 in a junior welterweight bout, recording a 10-round TKO victory in Houston.

Seventeen years after the fight, Ortiz revealed that he only discovered he had fought Clottey he entered the ring to face him.

“He was a good and amazing champion,” Ortiz said VLAD Television Clottey (29-10, 17 KO), who never won a major title but once fought for the IBF 140-pound belt. “I got the notification about two weeks before the fight.

“Ortiz, they want you to fight in a few weeks.” – Yes, no problem. – Don’t you want to know with whom? ‘NO. What weight category? “One thirty, 133?” What is your weight now? I say, “About 150.” “I need you at 133 in two weeks.” I say, “Oh, sure.” No problem.’

“Don’t you want the guy’s name?” ‘NO.’ – Don’t you want to examine him? ‘NO. Moms – what is it? – 10, 12 rounds? Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it.”

Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KO) said his insistence on getting to know his opponent during the weigh-in session didn’t matter to his promoters at the time. The Kansas native said he only found out his opponent would be Clottey from ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. during the fighter introductions.

Ortiz said he felt like fight promoters were trying to set him up to lose to Clottey.

“So I went to Laughlin, Nevada and I just remembered I was in the ring and I still didn’t know who I was fighting,” Ortiz said. “They didn’t tell me. I stepped on the scale, weighed myself and went. I still don’t know who I’m fighting. They told me, “Vic, go and eat.” I replied, “But I want to see who I’m fighting.” Don’t worry about it. Just go and eat. ‘All right.’

“I told them to check if he was overweight because I was the one who gained my weight. I went to eat something. It’s almost 9 p.m. I asked, “Did we ever find out who I was fighting?” The only response that came back was, “Vic, they know who you’re fighting. Just relax, man. You think too much. All right.’

“I enter the ring and I still don’t know who I’m fighting. Now they announce: “Ladies and gentlemen, Jimmy Leonard Jr…. ‘It’s show time!’ I say, “Oh my God.” This is great. And the ad went on to say, “From the red corner, challenger,” and I said, “Challenger? What are you talking about?

“Wait. What? Challenger? “And here in the blue corner, reigning, defending…” I said, “Oh no. Oh, OK. I see what’s going on. Okay. That’s why the promoters are trying to set me up. Okay.” .I’ve got you.’

“So I went to the middle of the ring and shook hands,” Ortiz continued. “Hey, master. I love you, but you’ve had enough. Boom. I came and won. I replied, “Yes.” I was so elated. I thought, “Wow.”

After the fight, Ortiz said Clottey congratulated him and the fighters became good friends.

“Yeah, he said, ‘You hit really challenging,’ and I said, ‘You hit challenging, too.’ But his eyes were messed up and he was all closed. The next morning, as I was riding the elevator home, I saw him covered in bruises and wearing glasses. So we just took a substantial picture.

WBA airy heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will not defeat unified champion Artur Beterbiev without getting back on his feet and fighting on October 12. Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) will be unable to contain Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO), turning the fight into a 12-round fight on the track.

Beterbiev cuts the ring too much for Bivol to get away with, and he can’t afford to get tired of staying on the move throughout the fight. Bivol is 33 years elderly and not youthful enough to move for three minutes in each round.

The Bivol vs. Beterbiev fight will be shown live on DAZN PPV at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. According to bookmakers, Bivol is the favorite due to his youth, boxing skills and the fact that Beterbiev is returning from a knee injury.

“This is an incredible fight for my career. Boxing fans want to see this fight,” said Dmitry Bivol conversationSport about his match with Artur Beterbiev. “It’s good that two players have different styles. That’s engaging.

“Of course, it made my career more renowned. I gained a lot of boxing fans thanks to this fight,” Bivol said about his 2022 fight with Canelo Alvarez. “It was a fight that was borderline. If we pass the exam, we can move to another level.”

Fortunately for the fans, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh became interested in organizing the Beterbiev vs. Bivol because we might never have gotten there because of networks and promoters.

“After October 12, I have nothing on my mind. Just this fight for the belts and then we’ll see. I knew this fight would happen sooner or later.” – Bivol said about his fight with Beterbiev.

“It should be a classic. I described it as the airy heavyweight version of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. That’s how close they are and how well they fit together,” said journalist Colin Hart Professional boxing fans. “Beterbiev is a beast when he enters the ring. He is 39 years elderly and should not be where he is at 39 years elderly.

Bivol doesn’t fight like the version of Muhammad Ali who first fought Joe Frazier, and Beterbiev is completely different than Frazier. If anyone, Bivol fights a lot like a younger version Wladimir Klitschko before he began training with Emanuel Steward.

When Wladimir was youthful, he was a combination striker who moved a lot. After Steward caught Wladimir, he added a lot of clinching. He became a bit like Lennox Lewis.

“He is undefeated with 20 fights and 20 knockouts. Bivol defeated Canelo. This gives you an idea of ​​how good he is. So flip a coin. I have to believe that Beterbiev will win. This will be the first time in his life that he has covered such a distance,” Hart said.

It will be arduous for Bivol to go the full 12 rounds against Beterbiev because he has a lot of bad habits that give him a chance to get knocked out. Bivol’s habits:

• Fighting with the ropes: Bivol often leans on the ropes and tries to hide it. It has worked for fighters like Canelo, Gilberto Ramirez and Lyndon Arthur, but I don’t think it will work for Beterbiev.
• Throwing Combos: This is the biggest flaw in Bivol’s game because he has been a hitter in the competition since day one. He likes to throw combinations of two to four punches, and sometimes even seven.

“His only strength is skill. This is what will defeat Beterbiev. He is so skillful and sharp,” Hart said of Bivol. “It’s amazing to think that two Russians will headline Riyad. This gives you an idea of ​​the difference in boxing today from what it used to be.

Bivol’s skills may not be enough to stop Beterbiev, who will force him to fight at some point in the competition. He cannot move for the entire 12 rounds without standing and switching with Beterbiev without risking a decision. The judges will not automatically award rounds to Bivol if he fights defensively, as he did against Lyndon Arthur and Craig Richards. These fights were difficult to watch because Bivol showed no heart.

“It’s a fight people will want to see. “I’m not saying that people on the fringes of boxing will say the same because I’m pretty sure they don’t know much about either of them,” Hart said.

Casual fans probably won’t bother purchasing the Beterbiev vs. event. Bivol on DAZN PPV. However, a good number will watch it on ESPN+ if they have a subscription and stumble upon it on October 12.

Casual fans won’t seek out this event as it’s all foreign fighters and the undercard is mostly UK guys that even hardcore fans won’t be too interested in watching in the US

Author: Sean Crose

Dmitry Bivol did what few people have done before – he defeated the great Canelo Alvarez in the ring. And while some might argue that moving up to airy heavyweight again was a bridge too far for Canelo or that he was starting to show signs of wear and tear when he and Bivol fought in 2022, there was no doubt that defending WBA champion Bivol dominated their fight. If the decision loss to Bivol wasn’t a huge upset, it was certainly close to one. And yet, 33-year-old Bivol is still not fully satisfied with his career.

The 23-0 fighter has an ultimate goal he wants to achieve – to become the undisputed airy heavyweight champion of the world. Fortunately for all parties involved, as well as the entire legion of boxing fans, Bivol will get his chance on October 12, when he will face another undefeated fighter, Artur Beterbiev, owner of the WBO, WBC and IBF airy heavyweight championship belts. The winner will not only be the undisputed airy heavyweight king, but will likely be among the best airy heavyweights in the world – that’s no miniature thing.

What makes this fight fascinating, apart from the fact that both fighters are undefeated and seemingly in the top form of their competitions, is the fact that it is tough to say who will actually win this fight. Stylistically, both men are close to opposites. Bivol is a highly skilled technician and Beterbiev is a highly skilled vehicle of destruction. Apart from the fact that Bivol has more than a five-year age advantage over the elder Beterbiev, there is little about these two that gives one an advantage over the other. That is, not until the first bell rang.

The truth is that this fight has been a long one. Beterbiev’s injury prevented this anticipated clash from becoming a reality for longer than most would like to remember. Indeed, it is said that there is no guarantee that the fight will end in October without obstacles delaying the fight again. However, Booth’s players are clearly ready for this moment. If he wins, there is no doubt that Bivol would be willing to face Canelo again. However, this is just a pipe dream until he defeats Beterbiev. And there is no guarantee that Bivol will be able to do it.