Fight Night

Tonight will be a great day for boxing aficionados. First, Amir Khan(24-1) will go up against Paul McCloskey (22-0) in what should be a tough test for Khan. Although, with McCloskey's limited power, Khan's chin will probably not be tested much. This should be a runaway win for Khan. Later tonight on Showtime, Juan Manuel Lopez (30-0) will face Orlando Salido (34-11-2) . This should be a tune-up fight for Lopez as he prepares for a bigger fight later this year. Who knows, maybe the boxing gods will answer our prayers and line up Lopez against Yuriorkis Gamboa (20-0). But, that's down the road. Tonight Lopez should give us at the very least an impressive performance.

The one fight that I am most eager to see is, Andre Berto (27-0) versus Victor Ortiz (28-2-1). Not a lot of people are giving Ortiz a shot. Why should they. Until now, Ortiz's main claim to fame is that he "quit" against Marcos Maidana back in 2009. It was not long ago that Ortiz was a fast rising fighter with the hype. He was supposed to be the next Oscar De la Hoya. He was supposed to be "Vicious". It's safe to say that he has failed to live up to expectations. In his last fight, Ortiz fought unheralded Lamont Peterson. This fight was supposed to show that Ortiz had moved on from the beating he suffered against Maidana. All this fight showed is that Ortiz is still affected by the Maidana fight. Ortiz knocked down Peterson twice early on in the fight, but still managed to only get a draw. It's starting to seem that there is not a lot of "Vicious" in Victor Ortiz. I guess people where right to anoint him the next De La Hoya. I just didn't know they where referring to the Oscar De La Hoya from his latter fights, you know where he failed to show any heart. Tonight, Ortiz will be at a career crossroads. He has to show that he's not all hype, and actually has substance. I for one will be rooting for him. I was one of those that bought into the hype. I supported him after the Maidana fight, and used his family issues as the reason for his poor showing. Tonight will not be easy at all for Ortiz. After all, Berto is one of the best fighters in the game today. A win tonight might set him up with a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao later this year. The odds are stacked against Ortiz. Maybe, that's exactly what he needs. Maybe, today he will show that the hype was justified. Maybe, tonight we will see the "Vicious" fighter we where promised years ago.