Victor Ortiz and the Benefits of Crazy Talk

“Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser,” exclaimed Vince Lombardi, as quoted on Brainyquotes.com.

Victor Ortiz sounded like a man out of touch with reality in the weeks leading up to his title match with Andre Berto. Ortiz, as reported 4/1/11 on Boxingscene.com by Chris LaBate, claimed that Marcos Maidana… is running left and right. I think I’m in his nightmares. When he gets the courage, he can meet me at 147”. Most everyone rightly scoffed at this notion.

Maidana had of course pummeled Ortiz into submission with aggression, will, and punching power when the two met in 2009. Based on the way Ortiz quit in that fight it appeared that he was the one who wanted nothing more to do Maidana contrary to his recent quotes. So was Ortiz delusional when he said that Maidana was scarred of him? No, he was doing what was necessary for a boxer to accomplish something extraordinary.

Making fun of pompous or delusional quotes from fighters is fun for fans and writers. It gives us something to between fights. However, making pompous or delusional comments is a necessity for most boxers; especially when they are trying to do something abnormally difficult. Mind games are just as if not more important for a boxer to play with themselves as they are for a boxer to play with their opponents.

The concept of boxing is, in and of itself, not a normal thing for a human to do. To step into a small area with a man who has spent the last few months training to do nothing less than give you a concussion takes a special type of mentality. Boxing is a sport which is competed in fractions of a second. If a fighter thinks or questions a punch he is throwing it will slow it down and be thrown without full force.

If a fighter questions how to handle a combination being thrown at him he will move to slowly. Lacking confidence in a boxing ring can result in losing a fight. So what is a fighter to do when they run into a seemingly improbable situation? Lie to themselves until they believe they are indestructible.

Boxing is full of numerous examples of fighters making insane promises and offering delusional quotes leading up to large fights:

When Muhammad Ali fought George Foreman he was a decided underdog fighting a monstrous man who had annihilated the only two men who had beaten Ali in two rounds apiece. Leading up to the famous Rumble in the Jungle Ali’s quotes reached new levels of self importance. If one listened to Ali leading up to the match they would hear how an Ali victory would prove that Allah was the true god.

After Lennox Lewis was knocked out in the first fight against Hasim Rahman he claimed it never happened. Repeatedly in interviews he said that he could have continued. He would reference that he was simply stunned and that he was ready to continue. Lewis would comment on his chin not being weak and that he was actually the one ready to win that fight. This was all despite the knockout punch being replayed repeatedly and that it subsequently showed the look in Lewis’ eyes which clearly indicated that nobody was home and he was unable to continue.

At the beginning of the Bernard Hopkins versus the significantly younger and significantly larger Antonio Tarver title match HBO analyst Larry Merchant quoted Hopkins. He stated how Hopkins believed that a victory by him would give “hope to the hopeless”. He explained how Hopkins had trumped himself up to be a messiah to the downtrodden. Hopkins seemed convinced that if he won he would become a symbol that would give hope to less fortunate people.

Did any of these comments ring true? Of course not. Christians, atheists, Buddhists, and Hindus did not rush to Islam, Lewis was not an iron chinned fighter, and thousands of homeless people did not go out and find jobs. However, these quotes did serve their purpose. Ali stood in bravely against a wild assault by Foreman before knocking out the younger opponent. Lewis fought with no fear as he aggressively stalked and knocked out Rahman in the rematch. Hopkins fought and acted like he owned the ring as he dominated Tarver.

Boxing is a sport where every advantage is necessary including, and perhaps most importantly, the mental one. When boxers make boisterous claims that have little to no basis in reality they are often not lying to the public or stating their true beliefs; they are trying to convince themselves in order to gain every conceivable advantage. Ortiz stating that he was Maidana’s conqueror did not change the outcome of their fight but it may have given Ortiz the extra confidence needed to change the outcome of his fight with Berto. Making fun of fighters for these quotes is fun and probably right to do but making the quotes is a necessity for winning at the top levels.