Victor Ortiz

A professional boxer who once held titles as a welterweight, Victor Ortiz earned a solid following for his aggressive style in the ring and crowd-pleasing charm outside of it. Born on Jan. 31, 1987 in Garden City, KS, Ortiz was the third of four children born to Mexican immigrant parents, though his mother abandoned the family for another man when he was just seven years old. Making matters worse, his father drank heavily and routinely beat his children, though ultimately he did encourage Ortiz to take up boxing. When Ortiz was 12, his father also abandoned the family, leaving him and his siblings in foster care for a time until his oldest sister became a legal adult and was able to serve as the family's guardian. Meanwhile, he began to train seriously as a boxer at the Salvation Army, where he was noticed by former heavyweight Ron Lyle, who led Ortiz to a Junior Olympic title with a perfect 5-0 record. Ortiz was then taken under the wing of another former boxer, Roberto Garcia, who brought the youngster to train at the famed La Colonia Youth Boxing Club in Oxnard, CA. After becoming Ortiz's legal guardian, Garcia reached the Olympic trials, but was ultimately eliminated.