'I Just Want To Win': Orland Park's Top-Ranked Boxer Eyes Title At 11

ORLAND PARK, IL — Leo Ortiz doesn’t recall all the details of the first time he found himself in a fight, but he knows one thing for certain. He didn’t like losing.

The Orland Park 11-year-old has always been wired that way, he says. But six years after his amateur boxing career began with a fight he didn’t win, Leo’s competitive spirit has pushed him to win more than he loses while also making a name for himself on a national level.

On Friday, Leo Ortiz — now the country’s top-ranked boxer in the bantam (85 pounds) weight class according to Team USA Boxing — will again step into the ring with a national championship in clear view. Leo will fight in the national semifinals in Lubbock, Texas, with his goals set on attaining something that eluded him so far in his young boxing career. A national championship.

Four times, Leo — who moved to Orland Park last year with his family — has finished as the national runner-up in various weight classes. And although he has come a long way since that first competitive fight that he remembers more for the result than anything else, his approach to what drives him hasn’t changed.

“I didn’t like losing,” Leo told Patch in an interview from Texas on Thursday morning. “I just want to win.”

Leo will carry a record of 15-5 into Friday’s national semifinals. Despite just being a kid, the Jerling Junior High honor student in math and science estimates he spends anywhere from 20-30 hours a week at his boxing gym in Hillside. His day begins at 6 a.m., when he will go out to run 2-3 miles before going about a week that will end with him training at least six times.

His father, Amauris Ortiz, admits that he and his wife aren’t the biggest fans of boxing. But despite the sport’s violent nature, Amauris says that he likes the discipline that the sport has built in his son, who took after his older brother, who also boxes. Yet, even five years into Leo’s boxing career, Amauris says there are still aspects of his son’s pursuit that bothers his parents.

“No one likes to see their kid get punched,” Amauris Ortiz told Patch on Thursday.

"But for some reason, he enjoys it. For whatever reason, he fell in love (with boxing)."

Leo says he never watched much boxing before he started fighting himself. But over the past handful of years, Leo has begun searching out YouTube videos of Mike Tyson fights, noting that the former heavyweight champion of the world was the youngest fighter to ever capture the heavyweight title at age 20.

Leo likes to model his fighting style after Tyson and Canelo Alvarez, who has built a record of 59-2 and who was the first and only boxer in history to capture the undisputed super middleweight title while holding three titles in the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and Ring Magazine circuits.

But as much as he likes to work other fighters’ styles into his own approach and looks to them for inspiration, Leo Ortiz also follows his own path. Leo boxes under the watchful eye of his head coach Reyes Hurtado at Beast Boxing, where he trains two hours a day, six to seven times a week. After making his national championships debut ranked No. 5 in the country, Leo has steadily climbed to the top.

This weekend, he will fight in the 90-pound weight class, where he may face a familiar foe. He earned a bye in the opening round of this weekend’s tournament and if he can advance out of Friday’s national semifinals, Leo will likely face an opponent he has boxed before.

Getting to this point hasn’t been easy, Leo acknowledges, when asked about going from admittedly “not very good” to one of the nation’s best.

“It takes a lot of hard work,” Leo told Patch. “Sometimes, it’s not easy (not having a normal schedule), but it’s worth it at the end of the day.”

His hard work has paid off. Leo won Illinois Silver Gloves championships in 2021 and 2022 and also won a 2022 Junior Olympics championship before claiming the Silver Gloves Region 5 title this year. Leo also wrestles (finishing fourth in the Illinois state championships for his age group) and ran track for the first time, while also dabbling in soccer and baseball.

Although fighting on a national stage has gotten to be part of his routine, Leo says that he tries not to put too much pressure on himself. Having fought for national championships in the past, Leo says he steps into the ring with the idea that he’s just sparring against an opponent, rather than viewing himself as being the nation’s top boxer in his weight class.

“I don’t really look at it like that,” Leo said. “I just want to get in there and do my best and try to win. If I don’t, it is what it is. But at the end of the day, I’m going to win.”

He added. “It feels good to be number one.”

Leo will carry that confidence into this weekend’s national championships in Texas, where he says he feels differently about his title hopes than he has in the past. His championship drought will end this weekend, Leo predicts — a confidence that his father appreciates but that he doesn’t want to get out of hand.

Amauris Ortiz also coaches his son, who, sometimes doesn’t allow himself to be a kid as much as he should. Instead, Leo looks at himself as a “little adult” who thrives on the discipline required to be one of the country’s top-ranked boxers and the schedule that goes along with it. Amauris constantly reminds his son that he doesn't need to keep boxing if he doesn't want to, and doesn't need to be the best to feel like he has become successful.

Given his achievements in the classroom, Leo is also told by his parents that he has a bright future no matter what. But at least for now, Leo chooses to devote his time to boxing, aware of the fact that he could turn professional as early as age 16.

At times, Leo’s parents have to almost force him to spend time with his friends. Friday afternoons are normally reserved for fishing and park outings with his buddies. But outside of that, Leo’s life centers around boxing and maintaining the training that the young fighter believes will culminate in a national championship — possibly as early as this weekend.

Unlike team sports, Leo favors having the results rely squarely on his own shoulders. He considers boxing harder and more competitive than other athletic endeavors but also appreciates the fact that if he wins or loses, he is the only person that can either take the credit or the blame for the final result.

“It really depends on how hard you work,” Leo told Patch.

Leo’s father appreciates the work ethic his son has developed, but also doesn’t want to see his son’s approach get too out of hand. Amauris said that Leo is always disciplined to get out of bed in the morning to go on training runs and is always waiting for his dad when he returns from work in downtown Chicago to leave for the boxing gym.

Too many times, Leo will only celebrate victories for a short time before placing a trophy medal or championship belt with his collection of other mementos from past wins and turning his focus onto the next one, Leo’s father says.

Although he feels like his son doesn’t enjoy his youthfulness and the prankster side of his personality as much as he should, Amauris Ortiz has enjoyed watching the journey boxing has taken Leo on and now embraces the sports perhaps in ways he didn’t expect.

“He’s so disciplined that you have to support him,” Amauris Ortiz told Patch. “At the end of the day, you want him to have the same experiences as all the other kids and have friends. It’s tough because sometimes, he treats himself like a little adult, and you realize he’s missing some things, but he’s building some consistency.

“But he’s very resilient. …he’s a lot tougher than I am …and it can be tough as a parent, but we want him to do what he wants to do and as long as he’s safe, he’s getting better, and he’s making progress, we support him.”