Manuel Ortiz (boxer)

Manuel Ortiz,
Statistics
Real name	Manuel Ortiz
Rated at	Bantamweight
Nationality	American
Born	July 2, 1916(1916-07-02) El Centro, California
Died	May 31, 1970(1970-05-31) (aged 53)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	129
Wins	96
Wins by KO	49
Losses	30
Draws	3
No contests	0

Manuel Ortiz( born, July 2, 1916. died, May 31 1970.) was one of the very best boxers of the 1940s, and was named to Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years. In 1996, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[1]

Amateur career

Ortiz, who was of Mexican American descent, started an amateur career in 1937.[2] Within a year, Ortiz won the Southern California Amateur Flyweight Title, the Golden Gloves Title, and the National AAU title in Boston. He also defeated Chief Lopez, who was an Olympic runner-up, and Bobby Hagar(father of former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar) twice. In their first fight, Ortiz decked Hagar 17 times. In their second match, Ortiz decked Hager twenty times.

Professional career

Ortiz turned pro in 1938 and in 1942 won the World Bantamweight Title by beating Lou Salica. He defended the title 15 times before losing to Harold Dade in 1947. He regained the title in a rematch later in the year, and defended the title five more times before losing the belt to Vic Toweel in 1950. He retired 5 years later in 1955.

Outside the Ring

• Ortiz made a very brief appearance in a gym scene in the 1947 movie Killer McCoy.
• Ortiz served in the U.S. Army.
• Ortiz died from cirrhosis of the liver after a long illness in 1970.
• Ortiz is the very first boxer in the prominent boxing online database on Boxrec.com, having the Global ID number of simply "1".^[1]

Preceded by Lou Salica	World Bantamweight Champion 7 Aug 1942– 6 Jan 1947	Succeeded by Harold Dade
Preceded by Harold Dade	World Bantamweight Champion 11 Mar 1947– 31 May 1950	Succeeded by Vic Toweel

References

1. ^ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=1&cat=boxer

External links

• Professional boxing record for Manuel Ortiz (boxer) from BoxRec

Persondata
Name	Ortiz, Manuel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 July 1916
Place of birth	El Centro, CA
Date of death	31 May 1970
Place of death