Victor Ortiz is presenting his Bare Knuckle Boxing debut as a spiritual journey—saying God guided him to the sport after prayer and fasting. His team frames this as a fighter who never left combat sports, simply evolving with the times.
Insiders note Ortiz has been largely absent from major boxing headlines since his 2012 loss to Floyd Mayweather. Sources close to the situation say this bare knuckle pivot reeks of desperation—chasing relevance after years on the sidelines. The timing is suspicious, coming right as Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson captured mainstream attention.
Ortiz confirmed his BKB debut is scheduled for July 18 at the Novo in DTLA against Dominic Salcido. He was photographed at Humble Warrior Gym in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, June 3, 2026—just hours before this interview dropped. The fighter also revealed he recently sparred with Oscar De La Hoya.
Ortiz talking big about Canelo and Crawford is exactly the kind of noise that gets eyes on a bare knuckle card—but let's see if either megastar dignifies a response from a fighter who hasn't been relevant in nearly a decade.
Victor Ortiz wants you to know he never left. But the 39-year-old former boxing champion is pivoting hard, telling TMZ Sports he's making his Bare Knuckle Boxing debut on July 18 at the Novo in DTLA—and he's already dreaming bigger. We caught up with him at Humble Warrior Gym in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, where Ortiz revealed he'd love nothing more than to throw down with Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford under BKB rules.
So what prompted this dramatic career turn? According to Ortiz, it wasn't just a business decision—it was divine intervention. "After prayer, a three-week fast, and looking over the offer, God told him it was the move," Ortiz explained to our cameras.
He stopped short of claiming he heard an actual voice from heaven, but the spiritual framing suggests his team wants this narrative to land with fight fans who appreciate the sport's grittier traditions. But here's where things get interesting—and by interesting, I mean messy. Ortiz didn't just announce a new venture; he threw down the gauntlet at boxing's royalty.
"Respectfully, Canelo and Bud!!" he declared when asked which fighters he'd like to bring over to bare knuckle. The "Bud" reference is to Terence Crawford, who picked up that nickname en route to becoming one of boxing's pound-for-pound best. Asking both Alvarez and Crawford to abandon their cushy padded-glove careers for blood-and-guts bare knuckle fighting?
That's either balls or delusion. Ortiz didn't stop there. He also opened up about a recent sparring session with Oscar De La Hoya—the legendary Golden Boy himself—but immediately shut down any talk of a real fight happening.
"That would be like Jake Paul and Mike Tyson all over again," he said, invoking the controversial exhibition bout that dominated headlines last year. Translation: De La Hoya isn't going to risk his legacy against an aging Ortiz in a ring full of cameras. And here's what really got under my skin about this whole thing.
When we asked Ortiz why he was making this move now, he didn't sugarcoat it—he went straight for boxing's throat. "All people care about is making millions while protecting undefeated records," he said, taking direct aim at the sport's current ecosystem where fighters cherry-pick opponents and avoid legitimate challenges. Coming from a guy with losses on his record—including that brutal 2012 knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather—this reads as either refreshing honesty or major projection.
Either way, it's clear Ortiz has opinions about how boxing has evolved since his prime, and he's not keeping them to himself. The July 18 bout against Dominic Salcido will serve as Ortiz's bare knuckle coming-out party. Whether it generates enough buzz to attract a Canelo or Crawford matchup remains to be seen—but one thing's certain: Victor Ortiz is done being quiet, and he's betting everything that controversy is still his best path back into the spotlight.
