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kenyan_cheena · 07-01-2010, 11:02 PM

The Times-Picayune

SUNDAY, 25 MARCH, 2007

ORTIZ DOWNS BROWN WITH
ONE-PUNCH 6TH ROUND KNOCKOUT

Story by Kevin Hammond

Joe Brown's reign as world lightweight champion came to an abrupt and spectacular end last night when the Dominican Republic's Francisco Ortiz knocked him out with a single left hook early in round six of their clash at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Brown had been in control of the contest through the opening five rounds, with a cut on his left eyelid from a headclash in the 4th being the only drama he'd had to contend with. But just 23 seconds into round six Ortiz unleashed a left hook that caught the champion flush on the chin and sent him face first to the canvas. Referee Pete Podgorski counted Brown out at the 0:34 mark, Ortiz not only becoming the new world champion but also the inaugural International Boxing Organisation champion.

Ortiz becomes the division's third world champion in the last twelve months. The title had been considered vacant before Mexico's Patricio Marquez claimed it exactly one year and one week ago, on the 19th of March 2006, with a 10th round TKO of Ortiz himself in a blockbuster WBA/WBC unification bout. In September Marquez relinquished both belts in order to set up a clash with IBF champion Brown, which took place in late November. Brown won the fight and world champion status with a stunning 3rd round TKO. On the same card Ortiz captured the vacant WBO belt with a majority decision victory over the Filipino Benny Diaz. With the merger of the IBF and WBO bringing about the creation of the IBO at the beginning of '07 the stage was set for a Brown-Ortiz meeting to complete a round robin of bouts between the two and Marquez.

Based on his outstanding victory over Marquez, Brown came into the fight as a warm favourite and during the first five frames there was little to suggest that he'd be anything but victorious. Brown took the 1st and 2nd convincingly and after Ortiz showed some promising signs in round three Brown resumed command in the 4th. Round five was uneventful and gave no indication of what was to come early in the 6th. Ortiz's thunderous left brought an excited howl from the crowd, Brown falling as if dropped by a sniper's bullet and not moving for the duration of the count. He landed 136 of 420 punches (32.4%), Ortiz 111 of 433 (25.6%). The Caribbean slugger celebrated passionately, jumping into his trainer's arms and pumping his right fist in the air.

Ortiz is now 38-2(31) while Brown suffered just his third career defeat, falling to 34-3-1(25). The vanquished champion appeared to be in a state of disbelief when interviewed some twenty minutes after it had all ended, amazed that he had been both knocked out cold and dethroned. Ortiz spoke in an animated fashion about his self-confidence and the positivity he'd been exposed to in the weeks leading into the bout, of how hundreds of thousands of people in his predominantly-Catholic homeland had been offering up daily prayers for his success. He thanked them all and said he was looking forward to returning home to celebrate and, eventually, defend his championship there.

Ortiz also reiterated the critical comments he'd made in regards to Marquez earlier in the week. On Tuesday Ortiz claimed that a verbal agreement had been made between himself, Brown and Marquez following November's WBO and IBF title bouts where it was decided that Marquez would challenge the winner of last night's bout later this year, most likely in August or September. However, following his win over compatriot Raul Martinez two weeks ago Marquez had expressed a desire to take on former WBC junior-welterweight champion Javier Gutierrez instead. Ortiz was angered when he heard this news, saying that Marquez had broken the promise he'd made. Marquez has disputed this, insisting that since he's not currently signed to a contract with the IBO he can fight whoever he wishes to.

"Yeah, the guy doesn't have a contract," conceeded a frustrated Ortiz last night. "But he gave me his word and he shook my hand. I've always believed that a man's word is worth a lot more than a signature on a piece of paper. I've lost some of the respect and admiration I had for the guy as a result of this. It's disappointing because I feel that I've done more than enough to justify a rematch between the two of us and if it's up to me he will be the next opponent I step in the ring against."

It's going to be interesting to see how the situation develops. As Marquez had said, he isn't contracted to the IBO so he's in no way obliged to contest any of their fighters. But many have expressed dismay at his pursuit of a clash with Gutierrez when a shot at the world lightweight championship is on the table, with nothing standing in its way. It could be that we end up seeing an Ortiz-Brown rematch, instead. Considering the fact that Brown was in control before the knockout he'd be able to make a good case for one. But Ortiz has been obsessed with gaining revenge on Marquez ever since their meeting twelve months ago and now that he's in a position to achieve that it's doubtful that he'll be prepared to risk it by giving Brown an immediate rematch.

In last night's co-feature Athens gold medallist Pernell Whitaker continued the perfect start he's made to his professional career, knocking out Boston's Calvin Woods in the 8th round of his IBO debut to win the North American Championship. Whitaker improved his record to 18-0(12), dominating the brave but clearly outclassed Woods and landing more than four times as many punches as him (311-74). Ironically Woods was enjoying his only real success of the fight in round six when Whitaker dropped him against the run of play late in the frame. He tasted the canvas again in the 7th and was cut on the right eyebrow later in the same round. The end came two minutes into the 8th, a lightning combination flooring Woods for a third time.

Whitaker was all smiles afterwards as the regional title belt was strapped around his waist by IBO president Robert Tattaglia. It's clear that he is in a much happier place than he was a couple of months ago before joining the organisation. Whitaker is one of the brightest young talents in the sport today and it won't surprise me at all if he's in line to compete for the world championship by the end of the year. Ortiz, Marquez and Brown will certainly be keeping an eye on him, without a doubt.

07-01-2010, 11:02 PM	#992
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	The Times-Picayune SUNDAY, 25 MARCH, 2007 ORTIZ DOWNS BROWN WITH ONE-PUNCH 6TH ROUND KNOCKOUT Story by Kevin Hammond Joe Brown's reign as world lightweight champion came to an abrupt and spectacular end last night when the Dominican Republic's Francisco Ortiz knocked him out with a single left hook early in round six of their clash at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Brown had been in control of the contest through the opening five rounds, with a cut on his left eyelid from a headclash in the 4th being the only drama he'd had to contend with. But just 23 seconds into round six Ortiz unleashed a left hook that caught the champion flush on the chin and sent him face first to the canvas. Referee Pete Podgorski counted Brown out at the 0:34 mark, Ortiz not only becoming the new world champion but also the inaugural International Boxing Organisation champion. Ortiz becomes the division's third world champion in the last twelve months. The title had been considered vacant before Mexico's Patricio Marquez claimed it exactly one year and one week ago, on the 19th of March 2006, with a 10th round TKO of Ortiz himself in a blockbuster WBA/WBC unification bout. In September Marquez relinquished both belts in order to set up a clash with IBF champion Brown, which took place in late November. Brown won the fight and world champion status with a stunning 3rd round TKO. On the same card Ortiz captured the vacant WBO belt with a majority decision victory over the Filipino Benny Diaz. With the merger of the IBF and WBO bringing about the creation of the IBO at the beginning of '07 the stage was set for a Brown-Ortiz meeting to complete a round robin of bouts between the two and Marquez. Based on his outstanding victory over Marquez, Brown came into the fight as a warm favourite and during the first five frames there was little to suggest that he'd be anything but victorious. Brown took the 1st and 2nd convincingly and after Ortiz showed some promising signs in round three Brown resumed command in the 4th. Round five was uneventful and gave no indication of what was to come early in the 6th. Ortiz's thunderous left brought an excited howl from the crowd, Brown falling as if dropped by a sniper's bullet and not moving for the duration of the count. He landed 136 of 420 punches (32.4%), Ortiz 111 of 433 (25.6%). The Caribbean slugger celebrated passionately, jumping into his trainer's arms and pumping his right fist in the air. Ortiz is now 38-2(31) while Brown suffered just his third career defeat, falling to 34-3-1(25). The vanquished champion appeared to be in a state of disbelief when interviewed some twenty minutes after it had all ended, amazed that he had been both knocked out cold and dethroned. Ortiz spoke in an animated fashion about his self-confidence and the positivity he'd been exposed to in the weeks leading into the bout, of how hundreds of thousands of people in his predominantly-Catholic homeland had been offering up daily prayers for his success. He thanked them all and said he was looking forward to returning home to celebrate and, eventually, defend his championship there. Ortiz also reiterated the critical comments he'd made in regards to Marquez earlier in the week. On Tuesday Ortiz claimed that a verbal agreement had been made between himself, Brown and Marquez following November's WBO and IBF title bouts where it was decided that Marquez would challenge the winner of last night's bout later this year, most likely in August or September. However, following his win over compatriot Raul Martinez two weeks ago Marquez had expressed a desire to take on former WBC junior-welterweight champion Javier Gutierrez instead. Ortiz was angered when he heard this news, saying that Marquez had broken the promise he'd made. Marquez has disputed this, insisting that since he's not currently signed to a contract with the IBO he can fight whoever he wishes to. "Yeah, the guy doesn't have a contract," conceeded a frustrated Ortiz last night. "But he gave me his word and he shook my hand. I've always believed that a man's word is worth a lot more than a signature on a piece of paper. I've lost some of the respect and admiration I had for the guy as a result of this. It's disappointing because I feel that I've done more than enough to justify a rematch between the two of us and if it's up to me he will be the next opponent I step in the ring against." It's going to be interesting to see how the situation develops. As Marquez had said, he isn't contracted to the IBO so he's in no way obliged to contest any of their fighters. But many have expressed dismay at his pursuit of a clash with Gutierrez when a shot at the world lightweight championship is on the table, with nothing standing in its way. It could be that we end up seeing an Ortiz-Brown rematch, instead. Considering the fact that Brown was in control before the knockout he'd be able to make a good case for one. But Ortiz has been obsessed with gaining revenge on Marquez ever since their meeting twelve months ago and now that he's in a position to achieve that it's doubtful that he'll be prepared to risk it by giving Brown an immediate rematch. In last night's co-feature Athens gold medallist Pernell Whitaker continued the perfect start he's made to his professional career, knocking out Boston's Calvin Woods in the 8th round of his IBO debut to win the North American Championship. Whitaker improved his record to 18-0(12), dominating the brave but clearly outclassed Woods and landing more than four times as many punches as him (311-74). Ironically Woods was enjoying his only real success of the fight in round six when Whitaker dropped him against the run of play late in the frame. He tasted the canvas again in the 7th and was cut on the right eyebrow later in the same round. The end came two minutes into the 8th, a lightning combination flooring Woods for a third time. Whitaker was all smiles afterwards as the regional title belt was strapped around his waist by IBO president Robert Tattaglia. It's clear that he is in a much happier place than he was a couple of months ago before joining the organisation. Whitaker is one of the brightest young talents in the sport today and it won't surprise me at all if he's in line to compete for the world championship by the end of the year. Ortiz, Marquez and Brown will certainly be keeping an eye on him, without a doubt.