Javier Fortuna can beat you slow, he can beat you quick and he can beat you bloody.
The Dominican Republic-born fighter has shown over and over again that he’s just as comfortable going into the deep waters as he is wiping out the opposition in short order.
While he gets ready to take on Carlos Velasquez on Tuesday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas (FS1, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), you can see just how versatile Javier Fortuna is in his Greatest Hits.
3 vs Patrick Hyland, December 8, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
Irishman Patrick Hyland came over to the United States in 2012 with a 27-0 mark and designs on a 126-pound championship. The only flaw in that plan? Fellow unbeaten 23-year-old Javier Fortuna was standing in his way when they both were grabbing for a vacant title.
And Fortuna wouldn't be denied.
He was far more active than Hyland, and that volume translated to a favorable outlook from the judges as he took a comfortable unanimous decision.
“It was my first title fight,” Fortuna said. “I had the fight won by the seventh round.”
2 vs Yuandale Evans, April 27, 2012, at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas
If the Hyland fight represented a tactician doing everything he needed to do to secure a smart win, the Yuandale Evans tilt represented the most base, elemental side of the game.
A huge right midway through the opening round sent Evans reeling, and he barely beat the count. Not that he’d be on his feet much longer, once Fortuna kept up the pressure and caught Evans with another right. It would end up being the ninth first-round KO Fortuna notched in his career, and he’s added one more since.
“It’s not something that’s surprising,” Fortuna said. “I have solid confidence in my punching power.”
1 vs Bryan Vasquez, May 29, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
When Fortuna made his PBC debut in May, he was facing Bryan Vasquez, who was fresh off an impressive stoppage win over Sergio Thompson. Vasquez’s only loss coming into the fight was to division titan Takashi Uchiyama.
Once again, a vacant title would be on the line, this time at 130 pounds. And just like against Hyland, Fortuna got off the better, more accurate shots en route to a no-doubt unanimous decision.
“It stands out because of the world title in the second weight class,” Fortuna said. “He got desperate and committed a lot of errors.”
To get ready for Fortuna vs Velasquez, make sure to check out our fight page.
