By Edward Chaykovsky

Former world champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz is preparing his upcoming fight on the undercard of “ROYAL BATTLE: Amir Khan vs. Devon Alexander” on Saturday, Dec. 13, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

Ortiz will return for the first time since suffering a second round knockout loss to Luis Collazo in January. Ortiz (29-5, 22 KOs) will battle Denver’s Manuel Perez (21-10-1, 4 KOs) in a scheduled eight-round match that will be featured on the SHOWTIME BOXING on SHO EXTREME telecast.

Ortiz lost his last three contests and he's been winless since 2011. But at only age 27 and with the backing of manager Al Haymon, Ortiz is confident that one day he will become of the great fighters of this era.

“I am going to be the pound for pound world champion, there is no doubt in my mind. I will be one of the greats like Floyd [Mayweather] or a [Julio Cesar] Chavez one day, I just don’t know when," Ortiz said.

“I never lost any confidence in myself. I took a little detour, I went off into a different world and was quite successful at it, but at this point in time I want my world back. And that’s boxing.”