Weighing In - Part 38

 Carlos Ortiz

The main event at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 20, 1972 was the fight between Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson.  But the part of the weigh-in video that we're interested in are the undercard contestants, Ken Buchanan vs. Carlos Ortiz.

First we see lightweight Ken Buchanan weighing in.  He doesn't get naked, but unbelievably, Boxing Commissioner Ed Dooley, who is measuring Buchanan's weight, misreads the scale and announces the wrong weight.  Buchanan corrects him; Dooley looks again and announces the right weight.  We get a brief glimpse of the reporters and photographers present.

Then Carlos Ortiz weighs in.  Ortiz (1936-2022) was a Puerto Rican boxer who had held the world title in the lightweight and light welterweight divisions.  Ortiz weighs in naked, and no one saw the need for a modesty towel in front of the all-male audience.  Ken Buchanan is still hanging around and temporarily blocks our view, but then he steps out of the way and we get a clear view of Ortiz.

This was Ortiz' last fight.  After losing to Buchanan, he retired from boxing.  But he had nothing to be ashamed of – his final record was 61 wins, 7 losses, and he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

As for Ed Dooley (1905-1982), chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, he is remembered for suspending the boxing license of Muhammad Ali for refusing to be drafted into the Army, and for his 1972 ruling allowing women sports journalists to occupy seats reserved for the press and to enter dressing rooms provided that male athletes were properly attired.  A notable advance for women's rights, but unfortunately it meant the end of athletes weighing in naked in full view of the press like Carlos Ortiz did in this video.