FanHouse Victor Ortiz

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Marcos Maidana stopped Victor Ortiz early in the sixth round of an action-packed fight Saturday night, using a punishing right hand to upset one of boxing's top prospects.

Maidana (26-1, 25 KOs), a 140-pound Argentine who fights mostly in Germany, was knocked down three times in the opening two rounds of his first fight in this country. Yet Maidana also flattened Ortiz in the first round, and he steadily landed punches until Ortiz finally was forced to stop, his face badly cut and terribly swollen.

"I went down, but I got up because I have a big heart," Maidana said. "I saw that Victor felt my punches, and I said, 'I know I can win this."

Victor Ortiz's mother abandoned him at the age of 7. Five years later, his father left, too. So, it's surprising to hear the 22-year-old light welterweight boxing star say that his life is still "hell."

"When you're champion, everyone wants to take it from you," Ortiz told FanHouse recently." So, you have to put yourself physically and mentally through hell to keep what you have already."

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Even though Ricky Lopez does not look a day over 12, he is a killer in the ring and has won 10 amateur titles. He recently turned pro, and so far in three fights he has already recorded two knockouts. In this video we talk to him and his roommate, Victor Ortiz, about the life of a boxer.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Many experts think Victor Ortiz, who is currently ranked third by the WBA, is the next boxing superstar. Is he poised to be the next Oscar De La Hoya? In this video we talk to him about it as he prepares for his June 27th fight against Marcos Maidana, a fighter who has 25 wins, 24 of which are by knockout.

Check out the video after the jump.

It's the kind of place your GPS navigator might have to stop and ask directions to.

Sitting on the wide plains of west Kansas roughly halfway to nowhere, there's little to distinguish the quaint Midwestern town of Garden City from the constellation of others just like it. Except, that is, when boxing's top prospect wins a bout, and "Garden City!" comes racing out of his mouth with a big enough boom you might think he was trying to talk to Kansas without paying the phone bill.

Because for Victor Ortiz, the otherwise anonymous Garden City is a place of memories.

It's where his mother left him when he was seven.

Boxing needs a young American superstar. It may have one in Victor Ortiz.

In the final undercard fight before tonight's Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao main event, Ortiz absolutely dominated Jeffrey Resto, beating him on a second-round TKO and improving his record to 23-1-1. But it's the way he conducted himself in the ring after the fight that makes me think the 21-year-old Ortiz is the star boxing needs.

First, after destroying Resto, he showed great sportsmanship, walking over to him, checking to see if he was OK, and then giving him a hug. Next, and even more importantly, in his post-fight interview on the pay-per-view broadcast, Ortiz showed that he's smart, articulate and likable. He gave all the right answers, made self-deprecating jokes, and concluded the interview by addressing HBO's Larry Merchant as "Sir."

Ortiz has an inspiring personal story, having risen up from horrible circumstances in his childhood to make something of himself. He's not just a skilled boxer with a powerful left hand, he's a great kid whose young life is the stuff of Hollywood screenplays. Ortiz is the star boxing needs.