We get a special Sunday night edition of PBC Boxing on FS1 tonight with a main event between Victor Ortiz (31-6-2, 24 KOs) takes on Saul Corral (25-9, 16 KOs) at the Rabobank Theater in Bakersfield, Calif.
In the undercard, we’ll see Justin DeLoach (17-1, 9 KOs) take on Fernando Guerrero (28-4, 20 KOs). They’re doing a short fight to start the show, a six-rounder, so I’ll pick up the live blog when DeLoach and Guerrero hit the ring.
As always, scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for the press release from the PBC.
Fire reignited under former champion Ortiz heading into 147-pound battle with Corral
Victor Ortiz has had it all. In addition to winning a 147-pound world title, the 30-year-old southpaw also has gained celebrity in TV and movies, yet he still aspires to return to the top of the fight game.
“My close, caring friends say, ‘Victor, we love you regardless, but why are you still fighting?’” Ortiz said. “I’m not punch-drunk, having trouble walking or speaking. I’m not done, content or happy. I love acting, but I’m still passionate about boxing.”
“Vicious” Victor Ortiz (31-6-2, 24 KOs) will resume his pursuit of another world championship Sunday night when he battles Saul Corral (25-9, 16 KOs) in a 10-round showdown at the Rabobank Theater in Bakersfield, California (FS1, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT). The 147-pound bout anchors a fight card that includes rising 154-pound contender Justin DeLoach (17-1, 9 KOs) taking on Nathaniel Gallimore (18-1-1, 15 KOs) in the co-main event.
Ortiz’s fight with Corral is not only his first in 15 months, it is also his first since suffering a fourth-round TKO loss in a long-awaited rematch with Andre Berto, who Ortiz dethroned as world champion by unanimous decision in April 2011.
Both of Ortiz’s fights with Berto were all-out rumbles in which each boxer was knocked down at least once. In their first meeting, each boxer was dropped before the close of Round 2 before both men went down again in Round 6.
While his come-forward style has helped him win thrillers, it has also cost him, such as when he had his jaw broken in an upset loss to Josesito Lopez in June 2012, which cost him a high-profile matchup against Canelo Alvarez.
“Beating Berto for the title was the climax of my career,” said Ortiz, who was stopped by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Round 4 of his only title defense in September 2011. “The low point was the broken jaw, then having people kind of close to me give me the middle finger. I’ve learned to block out cancerous negativity. This fight starts my run for another title.”
While Ortiz has fought just twice in the past 31 months, having also gained an eighth-round TKO of Gilberto Sanchez Leon in December 2015, Corral has been extremely active with 12 fights under his belt since October 2015 after ending a nearly six-year ring layoff.
Corral, a 30-year-old native of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, is 6-2 since being knocked out by onetime 140-pound titleholder Mike Alvardo in Round 3 in March 2016, with his other defeats coming in 10-round unanimous decisions to 147-pound title challenger Sadam Ali and the aforementioned Josesito Lopez in September 2016 and then in April, respectively.
The fights are on FS1 beginning at 7 p.m. Watch them with me.
