Carlos Ortiz (boxer)


Carlos Ortiz was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. He held world titles in lightweight and light welterweight weight divisions. Along with Félix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Wilfredo Gómez, Héctor Camacho, José Torres, Edwin Rosario and Wilfred Benítez, Ortiz is considered among the best Puerto Rican boxers of all time by sports journalists and analysts. As of January 2018, Ortiz holds the record for the most wins in unified lightweight title bouts in boxing history at 10.
In 1991, Ortiz was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In 2002, Ortiz was voted by The Ring magazine as the 60th greatest fighter of the last 80 years. He held 21st place in BoxRec ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time.

Boxing career

Ortiz, born in Ponce, started his professional career in 1955 with a first round knockout of Harry Bell in New York City. He moved from Puerto Rico to New York before he began boxing as a professional, he would campaign there during the first stages of his career. After 9 bouts there, he fought outside New York for the first time, moving to Massachusetts to knock Al Duarte out in 4 rounds. His next 3 bouts were also outside New York, but he stayed within the confines of New England, as they happened, once again in Massachusetts, and in New Jersey.
He returned to New York again and won 4 more bouts in a row, then made his California debut, beating Mickey Northrup by a decision in 10 rounds. 2 more fights in California and one in New York went by, after which he returned to California to meet Lou Filippo, who was subsequently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as a referee. The first time, it was declared a no-contest after 9 rounds, but in the second, Carlos prevailed, by a knockout in 9. 5 more wins followed, and then he met Johnny Busso, who handed Carlos his first loss, on a 10-round decision. That fight was held in New York, and in an immediate rematch between Ortiz and Busso, Carlos won, also by a 10-round decision, and also in New York.
Next Carlos flew to England to meet Dave Charnley, who was considered one of the top challengers of that time. Ortiz won the fight at Harringay Arena on a 10-round decision, after which promoters thought he was ready for a world title try.

Junior welterweight world champion

Carlos met Kenny Lane for the vacant world Jr. Welterweight title, in New York on the night of 12 June 1959. Lane had handed Carlos his second loss months before, winning a 10-round decision over Ortiz in Florida. This time, Carlos became the World's Jr Welterweight champion, with a TKO of Lane at the end of 2nd round. Ortiz became the first Puerto Rican world boxing champion since Sixto Escobar more than 30 years before, and only the second Puerto Rican world boxing champion ever. Unfortunately for him, not much importance was being given to that division at the time, since that division's title had been vacant for 13 years. But Carlos defended his title twice, knocking out the respected, until then undefeated Mexican puncher Battling Torres in Torres' home ground of Los Angeles, and beating Duilio Loi in 15 rounds by decision at San Francisco.
His next fight was a rematch with Loi, and it took Ortiz to Milan, Italy to defend his crown. This time, it was Loi's turn to become a world champion, winning by a 15-round decision.
After another win, Ortiz traveled to Milan once again, and met Loi in a rubber match. This time, he lost again, by 15-round decision.

Lightweight world champion

Instead of going up in weight, like most boxers throughout history have done after losing the title in their original division, Ortiz went down in weight, and challenged world champion Joe Brown. Ortiz won a 15-round decision over Brown on 21 April 1962 in Las Vegas, to win his second world title, this time in his second championship division. Ortiz defended with a 5-round knockout of Teruo Kosaka in Tokyo before making his Puerto Rican debut, with a 13-round knockout win over Doug Valiant to retain his title on 7 April 1963 in San Juan.
A knockout win in 14 rounds over another Hall of Famer, Gabriel Elorde, Flash in the Philippines followed, and then a rematch with Lane, this time Ortiz retaining his world Lightweight title with a 15-round decision in San Juan. But in 1965 he went to Panama and fought yet another member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Ismael Laguna who defeated him in 15 rounds to claim Ortiz's world Lightweight title. A rematch in San Juan followed, and Ortiz regained the world Lightweight title beating Laguna by a 15-round decision also.
1966 saw Ortiz draw with world Jr Welterweight champion Nicolino Locche in a ten-round non-title affair in Argentina, and retain his title vs Johnny Bizarro, Cuban Sugar Ramos, and Filipino Flash Elorde, also by KO in 14 at a New York rematch. The Ramos fight proved controversial, because the WBC's president proclaimed at first that the punch with which Ortiz had beaten Ramos had been illegal, but he later reconsidered and gave Ortiz the title, and the knockout victory, back, with the condition that a rematch be fought in the future.
And so 1967 came, and Ortiz and Ramos met once again, this time in San Juan. Ortiz retained the title by a knockout in 4 rounds, and this time the bout went without any controversies. Then, he and Laguna fought a third time, and Ortiz retained his title by a 15-round decision in New York.

Later career

29 June 1968 proved to be Ortiz's last day as a world champion, as he lost his world lightweight title to Dominican Carlos Cruz on a 15-round decision in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz kept on fighting, but he never got another chance at a world title. He retired after losing at Madison Square Garden by a knockout in 6 rounds to Ken Buchanan. It was the only time he was stopped in his career. His final record was of 61 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, with one bout declared a no-contest and 30 knockout wins.
Ortiz is also a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and he always enjoyed taking photos with his fans and signing autographs for them.

Death

Carlos Ortiz died on 13 June 2022, in New York at age 85.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes
70LossKen BuchananRTD6 20 Sep 1972 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
69Win61–6–1 Johnny CopelandKO3 1 Aug 1972 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
68Win60–6–1 Gerardo FerratTKO3 3 Jun 1972 International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
67Win59–6–1 Greg PotterUD101 May 1972 Inglewood Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.
66Win58–6–1 Junior VarneyTKO7 20 Mar 1972 Ponce, Puerto Rico
65Win57–6–1 Leo DiFioreKO2 19 Feb 1972 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
64Win56–6–1 Ivelaw EastmanTKO2 31 Jan 1972 Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
63Win55–6–1 Terry RondeauTKO4 20 Jan 1972 Exposition Building, Portland, Maine, U.S.
62Win54–6–1 Bill WhittenburgKO7 8 Jan 1972 Coconut Grove Convention Center, Coconut Grove, Florida, U.S.
61Win53–6–1 Jimmy LigonsTKO3 1 Dec 1971 Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
60Win52–6–1 Edmundo LeiteMD1021 Nov 1969 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
59Loss51–6–1 Carlos Teo CruzSD1529 Jun 1968 Estadio Quisqueya, Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicLost WBA, WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
58Win51–5–1 Ismael LagunaUD1516 Aug 1967 Shea Stadium, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBA, WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
57Win50–5–1 Sugar RamosTKO4 1 Jul 1967 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBA and The Ring lightweight titles
Won vacant WBC lightweight title
56Win49–5–1 Flash ElordeTKO14 28 Nov 1966 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBA and The Ring lightweight titles
55Win48–5–1 Sugar RamosTKO5 22 Oct 1966 El Toreo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, MexicoRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
54Win47–5–1 Johnny BizzarroTKO12 20 Jun 1966 Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.Retained WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
53Draw46–5–1 Nicolino LoccheMD107 Apr 1966 Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
52Win46–5 Ismael LagunaUD1513 Nov 1965 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoWon WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
51Loss45–5 Ismael LagunaMD1510 Apr 1965 Estadio Nacional de Panamá, Panama City, PanamaLost WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
50Win45–4 Dick DivolaTKO1 14 Dec 1964 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
49Win44–4 Kenny LaneUD1511 Apr 1964 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
48Win43–4 Flash ElordeTKO14 15 Feb 1964 Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Manila, Metro Manila, PhilippinesRetained WBA, WBC, and The Ring lightweight titles
47Win42–4 Maurice CullenPTS1022 Oct 1963 Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England, U.K.
46Win41–4 Pete AceraTKO7 18 Sep 1963 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
45Win40–4 Doug VaillantTKO13 7 Apr 1963 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBA and The Ring lightweight titles;
Won inaugural WBC lightweight title
44Win39–4 Teruo KosakaKO5 3 Dec 1962 Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanRetained NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring lightweight titles
43Win38–4 Kazuo TakayamaUD107 Nov 1962 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
42Win37–4 Arthur PersleyUD101 Aug 1962 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
41Win36–4 Joe BrownUD1521 Apr 1962 Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Won NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring lightweight titles
40Win35–4 Paolo RosiUD1018 Nov 1961 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
39Win34–4 Doug VaillantUD102 Sep 1961 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
38Loss33–4 Duilio LoiUD1510 May 1961 San Siro, Milan, Lombarida, ItalyFor NYSAC and NBA light welterweight titles
37Win33–3 Cisco AndradeUD102 Feb 1961 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
36Loss32–3 Duilio LoiMD151 Sep 1960 San Siro, Milan, Lombardio, ItalyLost NYSAC and NBA light welterweight titles
35Win32–2 Duilio LoiSD1515 Jun 1960 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CaliforniaRetained NYSAC and NBA light welterweight titles
34Win31–2 Battling TorresKO10 4 Feb 1960 Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained NYSAC and NBA light welterweight titles
33Win30–2 Kenny LaneTKO2 12 Jun 1959 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Won vacant NYSAC and NBA light welterweight titles
32Win29–2 Len MatthewsTKO6 13 Apr 1959 Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
31Loss28–2 Kenny LaneMD1031 Dec 1958 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
30Win28–1 Dave CharnleyPTS1028 Oct 1958 Harringay Arena, Harringay, London, England, U.K.
29Win27–1 Johnny BussoUD1019 Sep 1958 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
28Loss26–1 Johnny BussoSD1027 Jun 1958 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
27Win26–0 Joey LopesUD109 May 1958 Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
26Win25–0 Tommy TibbsUD1028 Feb 1958 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
25Win24–0 Harry BellUD1023 Sep 1957 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
24Win23–0 Felix ChioccaUD1029 May 1957 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
23Win22–0 Ike VaughnUD107 May 1957 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
22Win21–0 Lou FilippoTKO7 9 Apr 1957 Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
21NC20–0 Lou FilippoND9 2 Mar 1957 Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
20Win20–0Bobby RogersUD1023 Jan 1957 Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
19Win19–0Gale KerwinUD1031 Dec 1956 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
18Win18–0Philip KimTKO9 15 Dec 1956 Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
17Win17–0Mickey NorthrupUD1027 Oct 1956 Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
16Win16–0Tommy SalemSD1030 Jul 1956 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
15Win15–0Tommy SalemPTS625 May 1956 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
14Win14–0Ray PortillaPTS817 Feb 1956 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
13Win13–0Ray PortillaUD89 Jan 1956 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
12Win12–0Charley TitoneTKO2 10 Dec 1955 Armory, Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
11Win11–0Lem MillerPTS812 Nov 1955 Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
10Win10–0Al DuarteTKO4 29 Oct 1955 Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
9Win9–0Leroy GrahamKO2 3 Oct 1955 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
8Win8–0Hector RodriguezKO2 19 Sep 1955 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
7Win7–0Armand BushPTS622 Aug 1955 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
6Win6–0Tony DeColaPTS610 Aug 1955 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
5Win5–0Jimmy DeMuraPTS624 Jun 1955 War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York, U.S.
4Win4–0Juan PachecoKO2 30 May 1955 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
3Win3–0Danny RobertsKO3 13 May 1955 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
2Win2–0Morris HodnettTKO1 28 Feb 1955 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
1Win1–0Harry BellKO1 14 Feb 1955 St. Nicholas Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

''The Ring'' magazine titles

The Ring lightweight champion

Undisputed titles

Legacy

He is recognized at Ponce's Parque de los Ponceños Ilustres in the area of sports.