Ortiz Destroys Corral in Four

He was quick, strong, and vulnerable, but the latter didn’t matter as former WBC World welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (32-6-2, 25 KO’s) returned from a 15-month layoff to stop Saul Corral (25-19, 16 KO’s) inside four rounds Sunday evening in a fight scheduled for 10 rounds at Rabobank Theater in Bakersfield.

Ortiz, 30, had not fought since last April’s knockout defeat in his rematch with former world champion Andre Berto, while Corral was coming off a fourth-round knockout victory over the unknown Ernesto Rivera.

The first couple of rounds were action-packed, with both fighters trading shot after shot, but it was Ortiz who was connecting with the more powerful punches.

By the third, the pressure started to get to Corral, 30, as he continuously held Ortiz. As a result, referee Jack Reiss issued a point deduction.

In the fourth round, with his back against the ropes, Corral took a straight left hand to the body from Ortiz, followed by a short right to the head and a devastating straight left that dropped him.

With his legs gone, Corral tried to survive, but Ortiz poured it on with a three-punch combination, and the bout was stopped at 1:26 of the round.

Although it was an easy victory for Ortiz, he was open the entire night, and his camp will have to address that issue soon.

If Ortiz decides to keep boxing, there are plenty of fights that can be made. The most interesting of those is a potential grudge match between he and former lightweight world champion Brandon Rios (34-3-1, 25 KO’s). Additionally, former world champion Danny Garcia (33-1, 19 KO’s) is also looking to get back into the ring following a split decision loss to current WBA World titleholder Keith Thurman in March.

However, a fight with Garcia, 29, a devastating counter-puncher, would be an extremely dangerous fight for Ortiz.