What a fight ….. or maybe… where was the fight? I understand how everyone feels, Ortiz definitely had a game plan that offset Lopez’s best qualities. It was smart, slick and worthy of mention but a lot like Stevenson v. De Los Santos, it doesn’t make for the best fights. The reason why Lopez won a close fight that could have gone either way is because 1) he was already the Champion and you have to take the belt from the champion (as noted by allowing the champion to keep his or her belts in case of a draw), 2) Ortiz wasn’t overwhelmingly landing more shots than Lopez, he barely landed more and none were significant and 3) finally, because if you reward a close fight like that to the slick guy and not the guy that was pressing the action, you will end up killing boxing because viewers, not the hard core guys but the ones that watch it for the entertainment factor, will go to any other sport and not the track meet in a 20 foot square. While I became a fan of Ortiz and his skillful display, rudimentary fans that are watching for the first time may never watch again. That’s why, if you are going to make the stick and move your game plan, you better overwhelm statistically with punches landed, you have to leave no doubt….. and while that’s a sad fact….. it’s a fact nonetheless. Ultimately, this a business, and if you deliver fights like that night after night, boxing will die, and that’s why Ortiz lost. That being said, if Ortiz was the champion and he was defending his belt(s), he would have gotten the win.

That brings us to another perplexing situation, Lopez, for as good as he is, has one major flaw, almost all boxers do, he can’t handle movement. He needs to correct this. He should have stopped and forced the challenger to follow him. He is the champion and if no one lands a shot, he retains the belt. I mean, hell, the fight was about that boring anyway. Not as bad as Stevenson v De Los Santos, but close. Got to have a game plan for the guys that are not going to stand there and trade.

The right guy won…. but not because he won but because the other guy didn’t do enough to win…. if that makes sense. Boxing scoring is subjective as opposed to objective, that’s the correct phrasing, I looked it up to make sure, which means that unless a KO is achieved, the fight is left in the hands of judges who make a decision based on their experience and also what is best for the sport. I know, it sucks… but if boxing is to survive, you have to force the fights to be entertaining or at least, in cases where the fight is so tactical and technical, decisive. It has always been that way.

But if I was a matchmaker…. Teo Lopez vs. Conor Benn…. that would definitely be an all action fight and Benn, who is a top ten contender in a heavier division, assuming that he can make the 140 pound limit, would be coming down or Lopez can go up for one fight. That action packed fight would make up for this tactical fight. And since both fighters just fought 12 rounders, the time off would fit. May 4th is still open….