Is Manny Pacquiao vs. Victor Ortiz on the Horizon?

What does losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a decisively stupid manner get you? Well, if you’re Victor Ortiz, it may get you a shot at the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world – Manny Pacquiao.


In a recent interview with BoxingScene.com, Ortiz’s strength and conditioning coach Joseph “Hoss” Janik explained why Pacquiao fighting his guy would make a lot of sense. That, due to the obvious problems with putting together a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, a fight between Pacquiao and Ortiz would essentially be the next best thing.  


“I don’t think Pacquiao and Mayweather are ever going to be able to come to terms because Mayweather dictates too much how he wants stuff to go. I don’t think that one is going to happen,” he said.


Well, Janik does have a point with a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather not likely coming together. The sentiment falls apart, though, when he suggests that his guy has any shot at facing Pacquiao after the Filipino champion makes short work of Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12.


To everyone not in the Victor Ortiz camp, Ortiz is just some random youngster who was completely overwhelmed by Mayweather in their September showdown – right before Karma in the way of a Mayweather sucker punch ultimately took him down for the count.


He had no place being in the ring against the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world and, by the same token, he hardly deserves a shot at the No. 1.


Why did Janik even think he could set something up between Ortiz and Pacquiao?


“Freddie is a good friend of mine, Manny is a good friend of mine, I’d like to see that fight happen after the [Juan Manuel] Marquez fight, Pacquiao-Ortiz,” he said


While it’s very possible that he and Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach are good friends, that doesn’t exactly temper the bad feelings that exist between Ortiz and Top Rank boss Bob Arum – with whom the youngster had a messy break-up three years ago. Don’t forget, after that awful loss to Mayweather, Arum had this to say regarding Ortiz:


"He just wanted to get out of there, in my opinion. That was such a flagrant foul that it was like a guy looking to get disqualified. And after what happened to him, you would expect him to arise in protest. But he’s grinning like ‘The Cheshire Cat,’ because he’s finally out of there. .. Ortiz demonstrated a lot of what he demonstrated in the Maidana fight."


And considering that Roach has far more say in who and where Pacquiao fights than Roach does, it’s safe to say that Janik’s link to the Pacquiao camp is largely irrelevant.


Top Rank, of course, has already made it more or less clear that they want Timothy Bradley to get a shot at Pacquiao, after the latter fighter is done mopping the floor with Marquez next month. The fight will be horrible, but it’s the best way for Arum’s company to maximize profits given the circumstances.


By the way, for those keeping tracking at home – no, neither Pacquiao nor Arum have responded to Sergio Martinez’s challenge as of yet. And yes, it has been two weeks now.