Victor Ortiz fight canceled following sexual assault arrest
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2014, file photo, Victor Ortiz faces Luis Collazo, not seen, in a welterweight boxing bout in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Former welterweight champion Ortiz has been charged with raping a woman inside a home in March. Police in Oxnard say the 31-year-old Ortiz turned himself in to Ventura County Sheriffs on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 25, 2018. Police say the district attorney filed charges after a months-long investigation, and Ortiz surrendered after a warrant was issued for his arrest. (AP Photo/Julia Weeks, File) (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
A fight that was supposed to be headlined by boxer Victor Ortiz was canceled Wednesday in light of his recent arrest for alleged sexual assault.
Ortiz, a once rising star who appeared in movies and competed on “Dancing with the Stars,” was supposed to face John Molina Jr. in a nationally televised 10-round welterweight bout Saturday in Ontario, Calif.
The fight was scrapped but the rest of the card will go on, The Ventura County Star reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Wednesday afternoon, Molina posted a short video to his Instagram account that the fight was off.
“Bad news,” Molina said. “The fight has officially been canceled, obviously due to uncontrollable circumstances from Team Ortiz. This is boxing, and sometimes you don’t know the circumstances that are going to unfold.”
Ortiz, 31, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Tarzana, is charged with three felony sexual assault charges stemming from a March incident in which a woman said he sexually assaulted her.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A warrant was issued for his arrest Monday and he was released on $100,000 bail after turning himself in to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office the next day.
Ortiz has not publically addressed the charges against him but in an Instagram post Wednesday, he said “Truth will rise above falsehood as oil above water.”
He faces charges of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and forcible digital penetration when he appears in court on Oct. 10.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ortiz has a 32-6-3 record and was once considered a promising star until a string of knockout losses derailed his career.