Winning often isn’t enough if someone is going to rise the ranks and find themselves in the ring with a chance to win a world title.
How a boxer wins and their ability to connect with an audience while putting on entertaining fights is paramount to world title opportunities. If
Jamaine Ortiz is to get a second chance at gold, he knows he has to produce more eyecatching performances and win impressively.
Ortiz (19-2-1, 9 KOs) will have a chance to do just that on Saturday when facing late-replacement Ambiorix Bautista in a 10-round junior welterweight bout at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida as part of a Most Valuable Promotions Card
streamed on DAZN.
Bautista (19-2, 11 KOs) is stepping in for
Steve Claggett (39-8-2, 27 KOs) on about a week’s notice after the seasoned one-time title challenger withdrew through injury.
“Before, I just thought winning would get you there,” Ortiz told
The Ring.
“Winning is important but it isn't enough. You’ve got to win, that's No. 1. No. 2 is you’ve got to win impressively. Third, I think you need what can be marketed. Is your performance marketable? It's making sure you have those types of performances that make the highlight reels, I think that's what would lead to the bigger fights and make it easier to happen."
Ortiz has won two straight fights since his unanimous decision loss to WBO junior welterweight champion
Teofimo Lopez (22-1, 13 KOs) in a far from entertaining bout in February 2024. “The Technician” stopped Cristian Ruben Mino in four rounds on November 1 before a one-sided points win over Yomar Alamo on March 15.
The division Ortiz fights in also puts the impetus on him to do more than just skate by with victory. Junior welterweight is one of boxing’s best divisions currently, packed with deserving contenders as new champions
Richardson Hitchins (IBF),
Gary Antuanne Russell (WBA),
Subriel Matias (WBC) eyeing big fights while two-division titlist Lopez leads the way.
The Worcester, Massachusetts native is ranked No. 8 by the IBF, No. 10 with the WBA - where he holds one of their secondary titles - as well as No. 11 with the WBC and WBO.
Another shot at gold is more than feasible for Ortiz, who fancies the challenge that lies ahead to earn a second world title shot.
"It's a fire division. We got Hitchins, Teofimo, Matias is very entertaining, Russell is on the lower scale when it comes to marketability and promotional-wise, but is one of the division's greater fighters.
"Everyone else trying to get that title is a tough challenge. It ain't an easy road to get to the top, it's going to be tough, you need a little bit of luck, opportunity [and] skill combined."