Here's Al Bernstein's video recap of last night's Showtime double-header, with highlights from the Josesito Lopez upset of Victor Ortiz, as well as Lucas Matthysse's knockout of Humberto Soto.
It was a hell of a night of action last night on Showtime, as it was just one of those nights where action and excitement was in the air. We didn't have a single bum fight of the four that Showtime televised last night, with each ending in a stoppage, and a main event that shook up the welterweight division.
On paper, the Ortiz-Lopez matchup wasn't that compelling. But there was always that chance -- and even those of us who assumed Ortiz would win fairly easily, just on pure muscle, admitted this (some, anyway) -- that Ortiz being Ortiz, well, who knows?
I noted a few times talking to folks that crazier things happen every single year in boxing. By the fifth or sixth round last night, I just felt like something was happening in there. Ortiz's broken jaw is one thing, but he was mentally busting before that. His cheap shot last night was blatant, and just his approach and demeanor appeared frequently frustrated, leading him to fight dumb. He's a bizarre fighter. Very talented, and I think tough in some ways, but so far from tough in other ways. And always, always exciting, at the very least before WHO KNOWS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH HIM?
That crazy SOB is welcome back on my TV when his jaw heals up, I know that much.