Citlalli Ortiz

Citlalli Vanessa Ortiz, known by her ring name “Bellatrix,” is a Mexican-American boxer. Born on January 19, 2000, in Rancho Mirage, California, Ortiz has represented both the United States and Mexico in her boxing career. Ortiz’s journey into boxing began at the age of eight in Coachella, California. Initially, she accompanied her sister to boxing sessions, but her own interest quickly grew. Facing challenges with weight and bullying, her father encouraged her to take up the sport seriously. A major moment came when she sparred with local kids in her backyard, impressing her father.

Ortiz compiled an amateur record of 56 wins and 7 losses. She captured multiple national titles, including the Junior National and Junior Olympic championships in 2016 as well as the Youth National titles in both 2016 and 2017. Her success extended beyond the United States, where she also claimed the 2017 Mexican National Championship. That same year, she won gold at the AIBA Youth World Championships, marking a high point in her amateur journey. A dual citizen, Ortiz proudly represented both the U.S. and Mexico during her amateur years, becoming a seven-time U.S. national champion and a six-time Mexican national champion.

Ortiz, began her professional career on March 6, 2021, with a technical knockout victory over Citlali Garcia Cervantes in Mexicali, Mexico. She followed that up with a unanimous decision win against Vanessa Rodriguez Ochoa on April 29, 2021, in Tijuana. On December 18, 2021, Ortiz edged out a majority decision over Diana Tapia Castro in a competitive bout held in Mexicali. However, in a rematch on March 19, 2022, she suffered her first professional loss via split decision to Diana Carolina Tapia, reflecting the intense rivalry between the two fighters. Ortiz rebounded on July 15, 2023, securing a unanimous decision win over Jordanne Garcia.

Trained under her father Alex Ortiz and legendary coach Lee Espinoza, Citlalli Ortiz developed a style rooted in dual Olympic systems of boxing. As an amateur standout, she thrived in close-quarters exchanges, eroding opponents with volume tactics. Ortiz favors fire combinations—especially the classic Mexican 1-2-3: jab, straight right, left hook to the body. Depending on the opponent’s guard, she will double or triple up the sequence to keep them guessing. A favorite move in her arsenal is the high jab followed by a rear uppercut, then a roll-under into a body shot. Her ability to stay in the pocket reflects the brawling-but-precise Mexican-American lineage, tempered by the technical polish of Olympic-level coaching.

Like an American boxer, Ortiz uses a probing jab to bait, feints with her lead hand, then slips inside to land compact Mexican toe-to-toe combinations. Ortiz does not hunt for one-punch knockouts despite her backyard cockfighting experience. Instead, she overwhelms with flurries, uses head movement, and wears opponents down by digging to the body across all three rounds. Her deep sparring history—often against men and elite-level women—has sharpened her into a hybrid force: a Mexican-American Olympic boxer with street-born grit.

Ortiz’s ring aura is defined by inside warfare—a hallmark of traditional Mexican boxing. She rarely steps back, preferring to seize the center of the ring and apply constant pressure. Her high guard is accompanied by micro head movements. Ortiz weaves through punches and fires back with tight sequences—especially her signature liver hook followed by a right uppercut or overhand right.

Her style pays homage to icons like Oscar De La Hoya, who helped define the polished, jab-first Mexican-American blueprint. Like De La Hoya, Ortiz uses a stiff jab to control distance, doubling and tripling it to break the opponent’s internal rhythm. In gritty moments, her “Mexican backyard brawl” instincts emerge—a reminder of the environments that forged her edge.

Though she trains with Olympic-level accuracy, Ortiz thrives in controlled chaos—what some call “cave boxing.” It’s in these trench-style battles, exchanging in the pocket, where her identity fully reveals itself. With every punch, Citlalli Ortiz carries the burden and beauty of two cultures: Mexican damage and American tactical aggression.