Sept. 15 was supposed to be a date when boxing fans, particularly Mexican boxing fans, had to make a hard choice about which of their ring heroes they were going to watch fight on Mexican Independence weekend.
By Tom Casino,, Showtime
Josesito Lopez lands a ninth-round left hook Saturday to the jaw of Victor Ortiz that led the way to victory.
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Would it be undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KOs), son of the greatest Mexican fighter of them all, against Argentine southpaw star Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KOs) for the WBC middleweight title?
Or 21-year-old undefeated superstar Canelo Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KOs) against Victor Ortiz for the WBC 154-pound title?
STORY: Lopez stuns Ortiz
Fittingly, another Mexican American, Josesito Lopez, cleared up that mess a bit by ruining Ortiz's (and Alvarez's and Golden Boy Promotions') night, thanks to a powerful left hook that busted "Vicious" Victor's jaw. Lopez (30-4, 18 KOs) and Ortiz fought toe-to-toe for nine scintillating rounds, turning in a performance worthy of a fight of the year candidate.
Ortiz was expected to have surgery as early as today on his jaw, which was so painful he said he couldn't close his mouth.
Lopez said before the fight, "This is my Rocky moment. I'm going to make the most of it."
Moving up to welterweight for the first time, Lopez came away with the WBC silver title, a lesser belt, but, more important, newfound respect and a much higher profile, portending bigger paydays.
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy, which promotes Ortiz, called 27-year-old Lopez a courageous fighter.
"We know how hard Victor hits, one of the hardest punchers in the business, and the way Josesito took those punches is absolutely amazing," Schaefer said Saturday night. "I've never seen a fighter with that kind of heart. That's boxing. That's why we love it."
So now that the Alvarez-Ortiz fight is history, the winner of the Sept. 15 sweepstakes appears to be Chavez-Martinez and the co-promoters of that HBO pay-per-view fight,Top Rank and DiBella Entertainment. It will be tough to find a fighter with a high-enough profile to match Chavez or Martinez.
Alvarez will fight at the MGM Grand on Sept. 15, according to Schaefer. It could go a number of ways: find a high-profile opponent who is pay-per-view worthy and go (on Showtime) head-to-head with HBO for the dollars of boxing fans; find a fighter who might not be so high-profile but would make a good fight and put it on Showtime or perhaps even CBS network TV.
Schaefer has said he would begin working on finding a suitable opponent for Alvarez beginning today. He hopes to find a replacement this week.
It will not be Lopez, who will probably return to 140 pounds but could not move up to 154 pounds.
Yet a star was born, and Lopez suddenly can be mentioned with the top fighters in his class.
"I told everyone I was going to shock the world," Lopez said. "I'm a man, and I'm not intimidated by anything. I have a big heart. He tried to intimidate me, but it didn't work."
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