|
|
|
Ortiz Dazzles To Capture WBC
Title In Front Of PPV Audience
Fighting on professional boxing’s biggest stage, the
undercard of the highly-anticipated Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr.
showdown at The Staples Center, one of the sport’s brightest
prospects took a major leap forward Saturday with a
sensational win live on Triller and FITE.tv in front of a
worldwide pay-per-view audience.
Ortiz (14-0, 8 KOs), the reigning WBC Youth World
Lightweight Champion and undefeated CES Boxing prospect,
added another belt to his trophy case and kept his perfect
record intact with a seventh-round knockout win over the
dangerous Sulaiman Segawa (13-3-1), stopping his opponent
with a well-placed liver shot to capture the WBC USNBC
Silver Title.
By defeating the hard-charging southpaw Segawa, who had
never been stopped in 16 pro fights despite an impeccable
resume entering Saturday’s bout, Ortiz (@JamaineOrtizR)
earned instant validation among some of boxing’s most
influential voices and became an immediate viral sensation
across multiple social media platforms. Those in the know –
the genuine boxing lifers who eat, sleep, and breath the
sport from the club level all the way to the top – have been
well aware of the Worcester, MA, native’s skillset for quite
some time, but the former amateur standout reached a whole
new level Saturday.
Sharing the same ring as two pound-for-pound legends in
Tyson and Jones, Ortiz proved "The Technician" is, in fact,
the real deal – a legitimate championship-level prospect who
may soon see his name in bright lights alongside the sport’s
top contenders in the 135-pound division.
Promoted by CES Boxing since making his professional debut
in 2016, Ortiz not only had to adjust to a late change in
opponent after his original foe withdrew due to an injury,
he willingly accepted the challenge against a dangerous
southpaw in Segawa, who recently upset previously-unbeaten
Gadwin Rosa and Elijah Pierce. What’s next? Only time will
tell as boxing continues to adjust to the "new normal"
amidst a pandemic. Ortiz, however, will be ready for
whatever – and whoever – is next on the list.
Also on the undercard, CES’ Irvin Gonzalez Jr. (14-3), also
of Worcester, did his part to steal the show in a thrilling
eight-round war against undefeated Texan Edward Vazquez
(9-0) for the vacant WBC USNBC Featherweight Title. This
fight kicked off the free portion of the pay-per-view stream
and gave fans an early glimpse of what to expect. Vazquez
earned the win by split decision, 77-75, 75-77, 77-75 – a
close, hard-fought bout that could’ve gone either way.
Gonzalez was the aggressor early, using his reach and
effective jab to keep Vazquez, but once Vazquez worked his
way to the inside and turned the fight into a brawl,
Gonzalez occasionally strayed from the game plan. Vazquez
was at his best as the pressure intensified, and Gonzalez’s
output waned in the later rounds, which allowed Vazquez to
eke out the decision to keep his perfect record intact.
In the third fight featuring a CES prospect, heavyweight
Juiseppe Cusumano (19-3, 17 KOs) stopped veteran Greg Corbin
(15-4) of Dallas in the sixth round of their scheduled
eight-round bout for the vacant WBC USNBC title. The win was
Cusumano’s first since February of 2019. "The Italian
Nightmare" has now earned knockouts in each of his last 13
victories dating back to 2014.
This fight was also a departure from the norm for Cusumano,
a Sicily native and Virginia resident who spent two months
in Rhode Island training under the guidance of Roland
Estrada and his son, former Olympian Jason "Big Six" Estrada
and clocked in at his lightest weight in six years at
Friday’s weigh-in.
|
|
|