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12/04/2008 Archived Entry: "Jeffrey Resto Confident in Upset Win Over Victor Ortiz This Saturday Night!"
Jeffrey Resto Confident in Upset Win Over Victor Ortiz This Saturday Night!
Looks to shine on co-main fight on De La Hoya-Pacquiao ‘Dream Match’
By Juan C. Ayllon
Resto (right) takes it to Roberto Valenzuela in Cicero, Illinois in March 2007 (photo by Eddie Solis)
LAS VEGAS – He’s the guy flown in to lose to knockout artist Victor Ortiz, a protégé of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. In fact, they’re so confident in Ortiz, who’s defending his World Boxing Organization NABO Light Welterweight Title, he’s fighting this guy on Pay-Per-View just before Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao get it on in Saturday night’s main event at the MGM Grand.
However his opponent, Jeffrey Resto, 31, didn’t travel this far to lose under the bright lights. Standing 5' 11", the lanky Resto is two inches taller and 10 years older than the hard-swinging Ortiz, whose nickname is "vicious." Indeed, it may be a tall order, but Resto is determined to pull off an upset win.
A 1995 graduate from Alfred E. Smith High School in the Bronx, New York, he’s the oldest of three children to retired, former store owner Carmen Resto and wife, Serafin.
Resto started boxing at the tender age of 11, gained acclaim in the Junior Olympics and the New York Golden Gloves before winning his first professional bout, a four-rounder, by decision over Bruno Fusui in March 1997. He’s accumulated a record of 22-2 with 13 knockouts, getting stopped once versus eventual 140 lb. world champion Carlos Maussa (who knocked out Vivian Harris for the WBA Light Welterweight Title in June 2005 and lost to British superstar Ricky Hatton in November that same year).
He’s married with four children and works as a clerk at Rush Hospital, where he’s taken a leave of absence to train for this bout.
On a statement that when his plane landed, everyone but him looked out the right side of the plane to view the beautiful, bright lights of Las Vegas at night, but Resto couldn’t care less:
Well, by the time I got here, it was very nice, and I’m looking forward to Saturday night. I don’t know if he told you – I’m all business. I’m coming here to beat Victor Ortiz and to go back home. That’s all I’m about.
On training camp for this fight:
It was very good. Everything went very well; we had a very good game plan. And, like I said, we’re looking forward to beating Victor Ortiz on Saturday.
I sparred with two professional southpaws and two amateur southpaws, and to be honest, I don’t remember their names! But we really had good work with them.
On how he’s going to cope with the power of Victor Ortiz, who at 22-1 and 17 knockouts, knocked out former 140-pound world champ Carlos Maussa, the same guy who was responsible for Resto’s only stoppage loss back in 2003:
The fight with Maussa, it’s hard to judge that fight with me, but he definitely had something different. I think Ortiz is going to do something different…different from that fight.
To be honest, I’m going to study him the first round, see what he got, and from there I’m either going to box him or slug it out. If I see he can’t take my power, then I’ll slug it out with him; if he has trouble with the boxing, then I’ll box him out. I’m just going to give him different angles and see what works best.
On how it feels fighting in the co-main event for Oscar De La Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao:
To be honest, I didn’t even know about it! I just finally knew when I landed here. So, it’s a big honor! I mean, I feel very lucky and I’m looking forward to it.
On how he got into the sport of boxing:
I had a lot of cousins and they got me to go with them to the gym. And at the same time, they tried to mug me; they tried to take my coat back then! I got into it because I wanted to get back at them. And, I never got back at them. But, like in three months after I joined the gym, I was already fighting. I was eleven at the time. And my first fight was in the Junior Olympics – amateurs, yeah.
I won the Golden Gloves in ’96 in New York at 147 lbs. [in the] Open [division]. And before that, I was also runner-up – I was number two – in the nation in the Junior Olympics. And I believe that was in 93, something like that.
On future plans, should things go well Saturday night:
Try and get a fight with Ricky Hatton! It would be an honor. He’s an exciting fighter and I’m an exciting fighter, so that’ll be a big fight.
On his hobbies:
Some carpentry, handball, baseball – stuff like that.
On how he met his wife, Minitza:
She came in June from Puerto Rico, and I met her in the Bronx, in the park. Wow! When was that? It was like in 95, I think. I got married later on, like [in] 98. I’ve got four kids.
On whether he sees any of his kids boxing in the future:
No, no, no! (He laughs). I hope not! (laughing). I wouldn’t like them to box. I would really like to encourage them to play baseball. Yeah.
On juggling his day job and boxing:
I just took a break for this fight. This is the first fight I was not working. I always basically worked and trained. I guess I had no choice: I had to do it.
But, this fight, I have more rest and more training time, so it’s been good!
His prediction for this fight:
I hate to make a prediction. (He laughs.) But, obviously, I predict I’m going to win.
One last parting shot:
I understand that I’m the underdog, but I’m a live underdog and I think Saturday night, there’s going to be a new champion!
