Carlos
Ortiz
Ortiz fought frequently in his first two years as a professional,
his first blip coming against Lou Filippo. Dropped twice himself,
he put Filippo down after the ninth round had ended. Initially Ortiz
was disqualified but the result was later switched to a No Contest.
They fought a rematch only a month later, with Ortiz stopping him
on cuts. That proved to be Filippo’s last bout. Carlos didn’t suffer
his first loss until 1958, to Johnny Busso, a result which he again
reversed in a prompt rematch.
A knockout win in 14 rounds over
another Hall of Famer, Gabriel Elorde, Flash in the Philippines followed,
and then a rematch with Lane, this time Ortiz retaining his world
Lightweight title with a 15 round decision in San Juan. But in 1965
he went to Panama and fought yet another member of the International
Boxing Hall of Fame, Ismael Laguna who defeated him in 15 rounds to
claim Ortiz’s world Lightweight title. A rematch in San Juan followed,
and Ortiz regained the world Lightweight title beating Laguna by a
15 round decision also.
1966 saw Ortiz draw with world Jr Welterweight
champion Nicolino Locche in a ten round non-title affair in Argentina,
and retain his title vs Johnny Bizarro (KO in 12 in Pittsburgh), Cuban
sugar Ramos (another International Boxing Hall Of Fame Member, KO
in 5 rounds in Mexico City) and Filipino Flash Elorde, also by KO
in 14 at a New York rematch. The Ramos fight proved controversial,
because the WBC’s president proclaimed at first that the punch with
which Ortiz had beaten Ramos with had been illegal, but he later reconsidered
and gave Ortiz the title, and the knockout victory back, with the
condition that a rematch be fought in the future.
And so 1967
came, and Ortiz and Ramos met once again, this time in San Juan. Ortiz
retained the title by a knockout in 4 rounds and this time the bout
went without any controversies. Then, he and Laguna fought a third
time, and Ortiz retained his title by a 15 round decision in New York.
Later
career
29 June 1968 proved to be Ortiz’s last day as a world champion,
as he lost his world lightweight title to Dominican Carlos Cruz on
a 15 round decision in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz kept on fighting,
but he never got another chance at a world title. He retired after
losing at Madison Square Garden by a knockout in 6 rounds to Ken Buchanan.
It was the only time he was stopped in his career. His final record
was of 61 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw with one bout declared a no-contest
and 20 knockout wins.
Ortiz is also a member of the International
Boxing Hall of Fame and he always enjoys taking photos with his fans
and signing autographs for them.
