Tito Ortiz admits there’s genuine concern that he might miss weight in his boxing match against Anderson Silva.
Ortiz meets Silva in a 195-pound boxing bout under the Triller Fight Club banner, which takes place Sept. 11 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and airs on pay-per-view. The professional bout is slated for eight rounds and is to be contested in 10-ounce gloves.
Having never weighed in at 195 pounds in his entire career, the former UFC light heavyweight champion isn’t quite sure how he’ll hit the mark come fight night. He thinks former UFC middleweight champion Silva, who’s competed at 205 pounds on numerous occasions in the octagon, is showing a sign of weakness by asking him to drain himself cutting weight.
“I appreciate this opportunity, Triller, Anderson Silva for finally agreeing to the weight that was mandatory for me to make 195,” Ortiz said on a pre-fight media call. “So I’m literally trying to cut my leg off to make that weight, and I’ll do it. I’ve never missed a weight my whole career, but it just shows that I’m really that focused. But again, it shows that Anderson, he respects the power, so I’m excited. I respect the man as a fighter, but I kind of lost a lot of respect for him just for not fighting me at 200 pounds.
“I’ve never made 195 in my whole career of 24 years, and I’m going to try like hell to make it, and I will make it. But at the same time, I just kind of lost a little respect for the guy. Someone who’s been a great world champion, he’s fought at 205 over six times, he’s fought for the world title at 205. But once again, it shows that he respects my power and he’s trying to make me weak. But hey, as I do in every one of my fights, I’m going to make it exciting, I’m going to fight, and I’m going to make this vicious.”
Ortiz is a big underdog heading into his fight with Silva, who’s coming off a fantastic performance against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But Ortiz says the betting line only fuels his motivation of not only beating the odds, but ensuring that he makes the weight so he doesn’t have to give up a percentage of his purse.
“I don’t care about odds,” Ortiz said. “Odds actually kind of pushed me to want to express my feelings inside the ring, and my feelings are to hurt the man in front of me. I got to go back to the weight thing because if I don’t make the weight, they’re going to take a percentage of my purse away. So they’re taking food off the table of my children, and that makes me very angry, but I focus in anger. I’m excited because Anderson is one of the best in the world. I’ve always wanted to fight Anderson. I’ve always had respect for him, but I understand how his team is going to take control of what weight he should be fighting at.
“But like I said, he’s fought at 205 before, and I thought he’d be a gentleman and make it at least 200 knowing that I used to be the middleweight world champion myself, and I used to make 199, and that was the weight class. When UFC moved the weight up to 205, that was because of me. They asked me what would be the perfect weight for light heavyweight, and I said 205 pounds, so that’s why they made it. But once again, I understand what their theory is behind it and what they want to do. I really don’t look at odds. I just look at the factor of how am I going to be when I step into the ring and compete against Anderson Silva, one of the greatest middleweights to ever grace the octagon.”