City News Service
| Palm Springs Desert Sun
Joseph Diaz Jr. feels rejuvenated after moving training camp to Indio
The Olympic boxer from the Los Angeles suburb of South El Monte came to Indio where he says his career was reborn at the most crucial time
Andrew L. John, The Desert Sun
Coachella Valley High alum Citlalli Ortiz lost a 5-0 decision to fifth-seeded Australian Caitlin Parker in an opening round bout in the women’s 75-kilogram division at the Paris Olympics today.
Ortiz, who was born in Rancho Mirage but represented Mexico and told reporters she was also representing the Coachella Valley, lost 29-28 on three judges’ scorecards, 30-27 on a fourth and 30-26 on the fifth in the three-round middleweight fight at Arena Paris Nord in Villepinte, France.
Ortiz won the first round, 10-9, on the scorecard of judge Sid Ali Mokretari of Algeria and the third round 10-9 on the scorecards of judges Dmitri Meliss of Estonia and Cho Jungsook of South Korea.
The 28-year-old Parker won all the other rounds 10-9, except for the second round, which judge Holger Kussmaul of Germany judged 10-8 in her favor.
Parker had a 6-inch height advantage over the 5-foot-3-inch Ortiz.
The victory advanced Parker to the quarterfinals, putting her one victory away from winning a medal and three away from a gold medal.
Ortiz started boxing when she was 8, “because my sister wanted to join the sport and I had no one to take care of me at home,” she said in comments posted on TeamUSA.com, the official website of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, when she represented the U.S.
“Eventually, I had to start losing weight because I was going into middle school, and my dad wanted me to avoid getting bullied. One day my dad made me spar in my backyard against some kids who were messing with me, and once I had my gloves and headgear, as well as having my dad teach me what to do, I ended up knocking them both down.
“That moment was when my dad knew I had the potential I needed to compete. From then on, my dad was impressed on how well I followed his instructions, and I started sparring more often.”
Ortiz won in the women’s welterweight division in the World Youth Championships in Guwahati, India in 2017, representing the U.S., during a period she also represented Mexico in various competitions.
She had expected to qualify for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. However, USA Boxing denied her the chance due to its qualification system. Although Mexico invited her to the same tournament, she couldn’t participate because she had already competed for the U.S.
After that, she decided to represent Mexico fulltime, but had to serve a suspension to the switch.
Representing Mexico, Ortiz won a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in the 75-kilogram (165-pound) division, but only the top two fighters earned berths in the Olympics.
Ortiz’s next chance to qualify for the Olympics came at the World Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament 1 in Busto Arsizio, Italy in March, where she lost a 3-2 decision to Love Holgersson of Sweden in her first-round bout.
Ortiz’s final chance to qualify came at the World Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 in Bangkok, Thailand from May 24-June 2, where four more boxers would be added to complete the field of 16. Ortiz won each of her three fights 5-0 to qualify.
Ortiz said her ambition in life is “to be the best version of myself, study a good career in business or accounting to somehow connect it to boxing and invest in and help upcoming generations in the sport, both male and female, so that there is less struggle and more financial support.
“I am also interested in photography and learning the artistic side of capturing important moments in people’s lives.”
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