Ortiz challenging Reid for NABF welterweight crown

Aug. 9 co-feature on Freitas-Barrios card in Miami

14.07 - PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The welterweight division’s best kept secret, International Boxing Union welterweight champion Elio “El Chingo” Ortiz (24-5, 18 KOs), challenges Teddy “Two Gun” Reid (21-5-1, 15 KOs) August 9 for his NABF welterweight title.

Reid-Ortiz is the 12-round co-feature on Showtime Boxing, headlined by the WBA/WBO super featherweight championship match between champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas (33-0, 30 KOs) and challenger Rodrigo Barrios (39-1-1, 29 KOs), at the Miami Arena in Florida.

Ortizdoesn’t speak a word of English and the majority of his fights have been off television in his native Venezuela. He did catch the attention of many boxing fans, though, on the May 2nd ESPN2 show with his workmanlike performance en route to a 12-round unanimous decision victory against highly rated “Sucra” Ray Oliveira for the IBU crown.

“This is a great fight and great opportunity for Elio,” Ortiz’ promoter Jimmy Burchfield (president of Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc.) noted. “Teddy Reid is a tremendous fighter and champion. We wanted to get exposure for ‘El Chingo’ fighting for a championship on Showtime. Besides fighting a great champion, he’ll be on the Acelino Freitas card, too.”

Ortiz, now rated No. 8 by The Ring, made his pro debut July 1 1994 with a second-round TKO of Hermes Calzadilla. His first 17 fights were in Venezuela, where he won 16, including the WBA FEDEBOL Lightweight and Junior Welterweight championships.

Elio’s first exceptionally impressive triumph was a 10th round TKO of then 29-0 Omar Weiss, who is the No. 5 rated junior welterweight in the world today. Ortiz lost a 12-round decision for the World Boxing Association title to 45-2 Sharma Mitchell. Present WBC & WBA welterweight champion (17-3) Ricardo Mayorga knocked out Elio in the 10th – in Mayorga’s backyard (Costa Rica) -- for the WBA Latin Americas Light Middleweight title.

A first-round KO win against Juan Nieto set-up a WBU welterweight title fight against 35-1 defending champ Michelle Piccirillo in May 2001 at New York City’s famed Madison Square. The fight was stopped in the fourth round with Ortiz leading due to an accidental head butt and declared a no contest.

Two months later, Ortiz captured the WBA FEDECENTRO Welterweight crown with a unanimous 12-round decision against 15-2-1 Marcos Avendano in Elio’s hometown of Coro. He added the Bolivariano welterweight crown last July, registering a fourth-round TKO against Presente Brito, and defeated Oliveira this past May for the IBU world title.

NABF welterweight champ Reid, born in Jamaica and now living in Baltimore, has defeated former world champion Juan LaPorte, present NABF junior welterweight title-holder Terrance Cauthen, British Commonwealth junior welterweight ex-champ Eamon Magee and noted tough opponent Emanuel Augustus. Three of his five career losses have been to world-class fighters Ben Tackie, Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis and Jose Rivera.