By Brian Rodriguez

To terribly paraphrase The Bard of American Music, ain’t it just like the night to make one ruminate and ramble?:

Ortiz – Maidana: 5 knockdowns in a smidge more than 5 rounds of an all-out slugfest…enough said.  This fight was all that it promised to be.  If Ortiz were a “matador” – as the pre-fight strategy intended he be – he might have won this fight.  The problem is that Ortiz is not a natural boxer; he doesn’t use his feet to fight at a distance, stick the jab, land combinations, then get outside.  Ortiz’s natural instinct is to fight, move forward, and finish; not box.  Maidana’s heavy hands, Ortiz’s questionable chin, and the willingness of Ortiz to stand and trade blows with the Argentinean played directly into Maidana’s strengths.

Collection time: I’ll be in Vegas soon, “Mandy” (name changed to protect the innocent), to collect my winnings from the aforementioned fight.

Short and to the point: Maidana would have taken Ortiz out faster and more convincingly than he did if he threw his punches straight.  Each time that Maidana was knocked down (once in the first round, and twice in the second round), it was the result of his proclivity to wail away at Ortiz with wide, looping punches rather than shots fired from the shoulder.  Maidana would stun Ortiz with a not-so-veiled straight right hand, and in his haste to try and finish “Vicious” Victor, Maidana would throw arcing punches, which left Maidana’s feet out of the proper position and made him susceptible to being floored by Ortiz’s shorter, straighter blows.

The Rock of Ages – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: As The Good Book states, there is “a time to every purpose under heaven.”  Having said that, the time for a young fighter to question his passion and will to endure in the toughest of sports is not in a live post-fight interview with Max Kellerman on HBO.  For a fighter to say that he is “young” and does “not deserve to be taking this kind of punishment,” cries out weakness.  If Ortiz doesn’t want to get hit, cut, or punched in the face, he should probably find another vocation.  A boxer admitting that he doesn’t like to take punishment is like a Starbucks “barista” saying that he/she vomits at the smell of coffee.

The Bard of bards: As referenced in a previous P&TP Ruminations and Ramblings (http://pugilismandthepen.com/?p=343), The Man from Stratford-upon-Avon ruminated, “Expectation is the root of all heartache.”  Only The Bard’s brevity could encapsulate the morass of emotions being felt by Oscar De La Hoya after the loss of Victor Ortiz.  Again, to paraphrase, all glory is fleeting.

Schadenfreude, anyone?: Any astute observer of fights and fighters promoted by Golden Boy Promotions knows that Oscar De La Hoya is typically stoic while watching his charges from ringside.  B-Hop and “Sugar” Shane often are quite gregarious when one of the company’s pugilists is plying his trade, but De La Hoya rarely is emotive.  I guess that all changes when the Golden Goose aka Victor Ortiz is in action.

Getting your money’s worth: Fight fans knew that the Ortiz – Maidana contest had all the markings of a good fight.  Credit goes to Golden Boy Promotions for taking a chance with a young fighter in Ortiz (only 22-years-old) and matching him up with a legitimate top-10 junior welterweight.  I hope Ortiz is able to bounce back and return to the ring having learned from this defeat.  Ortiz certainly possesses the necessary boxing skills to become a champion.

Scoring a round: Check out this link for some expert insight into how the first round of Ortiz – Maidana should have been scored (both men were knocked down).  For the record, I scored the round 10-9 for Maidana:  http://www.ringtv.com/blog/824/giampas_take_first_round/

The Proverbial “Deer in the headlights”: Maybe it was a foreshadowing of events soon to transpire, but did anyone else watching ESPN Friday Night Fights this past weekend think De La Hoya was a “tad” bit awkward in his interview with Teddy Atlas?  Did the bona fide Golden Boy forget Manny Pacquiao when asked to name the best fighter in the sport not promoted by De La Hoya?  Talk about a painful interview.

Teddy’s Flow; Where’d it go?: ESPN has been touting Teddy Atlas’ “flow meter,” which is a real time graphic display of how Atlas is scoring a round.  I thought it was a great addition to the broadcast.  So, why was the “flow meter” MIA this past Friday?

Juanma: I don’t see anybody being able to beat Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez in either the junior featherweight or featherweight divisions.  He is so technically sound, punches like a mule with his lead hand (the right hand), and has tremendous maturity and ring savvy for his age (26-years-old).  Bob Arum is all set to match Juanma with Yuriorkis Gamboa next year at featherweight.  Unless Gamboa improves his defense exponentially over the next few months, I have Juanma winning this potential contest going away.  Don’t let me down, Juanma, or I will never allow you to be photographed with me again.

King Arthur: Arthur Abraham is a tough nut to crack.  He buries himself behind that hands-up defensive shell, waits for his opponent to tire from throwing punches being blocked by Abraham’s arms and gloves, then “The King” unleashes big right hands and left hooks.  I think Kelly Pavlik has enough power in his jab and right hand to split Abraham’s guard, but if Pavlik can’t get through King Arthur’s armor, it will be a long fight for the Ohioan (assuming the fight ever gets made).

“On the waters of oblivion”: The IBF bantamweight title battle between Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko and Vic Darchinyan coming up in two weeks has been circled on my calendar for months.  Unfortunately, I get the sense that not enough people know how great a fight this could be.  Come on Don King, Showtime, Gary Shaw, et al…promote this fight!  As long as Agbeko doesn’t all of a sudden come down with malaria, this fight should be an entertaining shoot-out (try to find Agbeko’s last fight against William Gonzalez on YouTube to get a taste of the Ghanaian’s fighting spirit).  The card also features a solid undercard, with Steve Cunningham facing Wayne Braithwaite in an IBF Title Eliminator bout.  Who doesn’t want to see Adamek – Cunningham II?

Please, don’t make me beg like Shane Mosley: Now that the Andreas Kotelnik – Amir Khan fight has been rescheduled for July 18, I am hoping that it will find a TV outlet here in the United States.  Pay-per-view would be fine with me; I just want to see the fight.

The obligatory Sotomayor rambling: Given the recent decision by SCOTUS to overturn Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the “white firefighters” case, Pugilism & The Pen continues to be justified in its decision to oppose Sotomayor’s nomination to the High Court based upon her lack of attendance at the Cotto – Clottey fight during Puerto Rican Day parade weekend.

“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is”: Winston Churchill uttered those words.  In that vein, here’s a little truth being laid on ya:  The combined records of the fighters scheduled to compete on the June 27 “Denver’s MVPs” card was 49-63 (prior to the evening’s festivities and not including draws).  Please.  Denver fight fans deserve more bang for their buck, especially with economic times being such as they are.

Well, fight aficionados and devotees, we’ve come to the end of another Ruminations and Ramblings session.  Continue to check P&TP for more insightful, thought-provoking analysis.

Until the next post, protect yourself at all times, and Godspeed.