At the Salle des Etoiles, Monte Carlo, Luis Ortiz had zero problems dealing with Malik Scott over twelve one-sided rounds. Of nothing. Most of us weren’t too hot on this fight when it was first announced, but we eventually came to accept it for what it was: a true showcase fight for Matchroom Boxing’s latest signing, Ortiz. But Ortiz and Matchroom won’t be happy with this failed welcome party in the slightest.
Ortiz vs Scott was bad. Real bad. Like, some people on Twitter are gonna literally explode over this one.
Final tallies came in at 120-105, 120-106 and 119-106, all for Ortiz, who, believe it or not, actually scored three knockdowns in this fight. More on that in a moment. For now, this bout is going to be received as an all-out borefest by much of the boxing community, which is a real shame since Ortiz is one of the only legitimate threats to Matchroom’s other powerhouse Heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
Following tonight’s victory, Ortiz bulks his unbeaten record to 26 wins, 22 knockouts, while Scott, surely destined for the journeyman isle in the near future, now stands at 38 wins, 2 defeats, 1 draw, 13 knockouts.
So the advertised fireworks, which almost always come packaged with Ortiz fights, didn’t even ignite, let alone go off. We’ve seen plenty of boxers experience great difficulty in hurting fighters who simply do not want to fight, simply because those kinds of opponents backpeddle, spoil, smother, and want to waste time.
Ortiz vs Scott was one of those frustrating fights. Frustrating for us. Frustrating for Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn. For Ortiz. And just about anyone involved in this event, which, once again, was designed to launch Ortiz onto the UK fight scene in explosive fashion. What more is there to say about this non-starter, then?
Ah, yes, there were some knockdowns in this bout. Scott was dropped in the 4th (a controversial long count was delivered), from a left to the chin in the 5th, and from a body shot in the 10th. Scott did throw rare counters and single shots, but really, it seemed like a distance loss was considered a huge victory in the Scott camp. I guess he at least accomplished something 22 other Ortiz victims hadn’t.
Ortiz, who will probably receive some criticism for not capitalizing on such a meek foe a lot sooner, will receive some criticism himself. He should have cut the ring off more, they’ll say. Where was the killer instinct? Where was ‘King Kong’? Why didn’t he throw caution to the wind and blow this guy out?
Personally, I couldn’t care too much as to why this bout was so dangerously sleep-inducing. Scott was on a survival mission from the first bell, and Ortiz, well, perhaps he just got fed up with chasing this guy around the ring. How about we all just forget the whole thing and ponder over something a little more tantalizing? So, er…Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz Jr in early December. How’s that Heavyweight scrap gonna pan out?
Ortiz vs Scott: Undercard Results
Jason Sosa vs Stephen Smith
Ortiz vs Scott may have been the dud of the evening, but this furiously competitive showdown between two quality Junior Featherweights more than made up for it. Jason Sosa had his hands full with a brave, polished challenger in Stephen Smith, but emerged victorious, taking home a clear Unanimous Decision along with the WBA title. Scores were very fair, highlighting Smith’s strong effort, coming in at 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112 (mirrored at Boxing Base).
Bloody, gutsy, with plenty of ferocious exchanges, it was a war. Just what you want to see in world championship boxing. So hats off to both men for producing a barnburner. In a fight filled with a satisfying mix of cerebral boxing and bombs, there was only to be one knockdown, that being Smith in the 2nd round (not hard, and actually due to some tangled feet). That in itself is testament to some seriously sturdy chins, particularly from Sosa, a physically domineering force who walked through some meaty shots and kept coming.
Smith suffered a nasty-looking cut over his right eye in the 3rd round, but valiantly fought on, with the cut behaving itself just enough as to not halt the action or seriously impede Smith’s performance. Sosa escaped un-bloodied, but developed a mouse under his right eye during the later rounds.
Overall, the result can’t be argued with here. It was Sosa’s inventiveness and extra injection of dominance that paved his way to victory tonight. He now goes onto bigger fights, bigger arenas, and as for Smith, he’s young and talented enough to bounce back again. Sosa builds to 19 wins, 1 defeat, 4 draws, 15 knockouts, while Smith falls to 24 wins, 3 defeats, 14 knockouts.
Jamie McDonnell vs Liborio Solis
It was a turbulent outing for Jamie McDonnell against an aggressive, sharp Liborio Solis, but the WBA Bantamweight title was not to change hands tonight. Final scorecards produced a Unanimous Decision, with judges seeing the contest 116-112, 115-113 and 117-111, while here at Boxing Base we had it dead even at 114-114. A win for McDonnell shouldn’t really be considered controversial, but yeah, this thing was seriously close.
Solis proved to be more than worthy of McDonnell’s company, pressing the action with vicious right hand counters and hard, zipping combinations, particularly in the early sessions. McDonnell, who picked up a bloodied nose and cut left eye, with a possible broken right hand to boot in the 11th, was kept on his toes throughout. But McDonnell adjusted well, eventually mixing up his attacks, rocking Solis with a left hook in the 9th, and catching the eye during heated exchanges down the stretch.
McDonnell keeps his eight-and-a-half-year winning streak intact, now rising to 29 wins, 2 defeats, 1 draw, 13 knockouts, while Solis falls to 25 wins, 5 defeats, 1 draw, 11 knockouts. Rematch?
Martin Murray vs Nuhu Lawal
Martin Murray had a much sterner test than advertised against stand-in Nuhu Lawal, but managed to earn a hard-fought Unanimous Decision over 12 rounds. Scores of 116-111 and 117-111 (twice) were reasonable enough, but how much longer Murray has at top-level now seriously comes into question. Specifically, are his tools anywhere near sharp enough to deal with any of today’s Top 10 Super Middleweights?
Lawal, who replaced original pick Arthur Abraham, signed up for the scrap on Wednesday. And even with such overt preparation disadvantages, the guy still put in a very decent performance. Lawal was an unknown commodity to most of us prior, but we will no doubt see him back in action on another televised support card following a gritty performance like this. Had he benefited from a 10-week camp things could have been a whole lot different.
Here at Boxing Base we had the action a lot closer at 114-113, which takes into account a 12th round point docking for Murray following a forehead shoving incident. There were some close rounds, granted, with Murray’s dominance never quite in full swing, but that’s nothing new for Murray. Murray now improves to 34 wins, 4 defeats, 1 draw, 16 knockouts, while Lawal reduces to 23 wins, 1 defeat, 13 knockouts.
Give us your own insights into the Ortiz vs Scott card in the comments.
