When Victor Ortiz steps into the ring on June 23, a potential showdown with Saul "El Canelo" Alvarez is on the horizon if he can get past Josesito Lopez. Ortiz hasn't fought since losing to Floyd Mayweather in September 2011, but already has big plans for a title fight with Alvarez. It seems that Ortiz is looking past Lopez already, but do the odds makers think that is a problem?
Victor Ortiz -925 vs. Josesito Lopez +550
I think with all the animosity on the sport of boxing after the Timothy Bradley win against Manny Pacquiao, the sport needs to see Ortiz win is fight and move on to face Alvarez. With the likelihood of Pacquiao fighting Mayweather slipping away with each passing day, the sport needs to see two of their brightest young stars fight.
As we saw in the upset win from the undefeated Bradley, just because a dream fight may be close doesn't meant that the underdog is going to not train and let their opponent walk all over them.
Ortiz is 29-3-1 in his career and at 25, has a long future ahead of him in the sport and will be marketed as one of their biggest stars for years to come. Heading into the Mayweather fight, he was coming off the Fight of the Year with Andre Berto, winning the WBC welterweight title in the process. He has tremendous talent and a possible rematch with Mayweather could be in the works at some point in the next couple of years should he get a few more wins.
With the 27-year-old Lopez, many feel that he will be an easy fight for Ortiz because of his recent history and it is tough to argue that point. At 29-4 in his career, Lopez has a great record, but is just 2-3 in his last five fights, losing to Jessie Vargas, Mike Dallas Jr., and Edgar Santana. He holds victories over Dallas Jr. (a fight which he dominated the previously undefeated fighter) and Marvin Cordova Jr.
I would never say that there is never a chance of any fighter winning, but it will take a lot for Lopez to get the upset win.
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Hobson Lopes has been a lifelong fan of boxing and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.
