Mayweather-Ortiz, Sept 17th

[JaKob]

How mayweather fares against pac it's really hard to judge.

IMO Pac looked absolutely terrible against Mosely. The in and out rhythm, movement, angles wern't there. The speed and power was. But this needs to be complemented by his amazing footwork, rhythm, and angles for him to be really effective against these bigger men. The footwork we saw against margarito was phenomenal. It was not to be seen against mosley.

Pac said himself that it was the result of having issues with his legs and cramping. I'm personally not sure whether it is simply this or instead indicative of him in decline. I certainly know his style isn't one conducive to longevity. He is getting rather ancient for a man with this style who is from the lower weight classes.

Fighters have off nights. Shit happens. His fight against Marquez will confirm whether or not he is experiencing significant physical decline. If he is losing his legs i see him really struggling against Floyd. He will be a fighter reduced to fighting flatfooted, lunging opposed to seamlessly moving in and out of range, trying to land powershots. With sheer speed and power alone he has a chance of knocking Floyd right out but i might have to Favour Floyd if Pac shows such signs of decline in this next fight.

[JaKob]

I just wish Tommy Hearns was 26 because I don't think Pacquiao will beat Mayweather to the extent that he needs to be beaten.

Had Mayweather gone after Ortiz in the manner that Holyfield went after Tyson following the 2nd bite, I would have felt better about the ending. I think it speaks volumes about his character that he tagged him in that position. Anotherwords, being within the rules and having an iota of class are two vastly different things. This reminds me of the Warren Sapp-Kyle Clifton incident about 5-6 years ago, yeah, the play was live...but.

For me, this was the worst possible scenario. I liked Ortiz quite a bit before the fight as he seemed like a very nice kid. Then the headbutt soured that, to say the least. Another guy worth following and rooting for gone by the wayside. Mayweather's tirade with Merchant just further reinforced what I already knew, Floyd is an absolute delusional p.o.s. as a person (much like Sapp talking junk to Mike Sherman after the game. Tough, tough guy. Bleccch) and having to hear his pure unadulterated b.s. later (on ESPN) about enhancing his HOF credentials and cleaning the sport made me want to jump through the TV.

I'm no Larry Merchant fan and he is rough around the edges, but he's not Jim Gray, either. He didn't say anything to warrant that response.

Lousy night. Another p.o.s. referee does another p.o.s. job, Ortiz looked very much like he was trying to win a DQ after performing a bar fight maneuver and Mayweather is still undefeated.

Hearns would be an impossible puzzle for Mayweather to solve.

I think Duran could stand in the pocket with him and take him apart too.

Fun and frustrating to think about lol. Mayweather may indeed retire being considered by his legion of fans the G.O.A.T

[diggity]

I think the main reason behind the lack of PBF's footwork was that he just had very little respect for Ortiz & he showed the world why he didn't need to be too careful.
Just the same why Pac looked pretty pedestrian against Mosley.
Lack of fire.

I think Pac would make PBF very uncomfortable and eventually steam roll him.
PBF is used to a few rough moments when his opponent still has a ray of hope then eventually picking apart his prey after they succumb to the deer-in-headlights effect.
I do no see Pac falling into that trap and I don't think PBF has the foot work anymore to frustrate and keep away from Pac in a long, tough fight.
Providing Pac doesn't blow a few years of his boxing longevity on JMM by fighting stupidly, Pac all the way over PBF (if it happens).
BUT
I can just about guarantee you all that PBF will want no part of Pac now or ever if he takes apart and KOs JMM without too much effort.

[GorDoom]

http://www.boxingscene.com/floyd-may...buzzing--43909

[GorDoom]

This was a mega-fight? If so, today's standards are abysmal.

GorDoom



Jeers for Mayweather-Ortiz outcome are justified
The highly anticipated title fight disintegrates into yet another bizarre setback for boxing.
By Bill Dwyre/LA Times

Floyd Mayweather Jr. won his mega fight against Victor Ortiz in the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night, and each ought to be ashamed of himself. Any resemblance between sportsmanship and boxing vanished on a night of mugging and dirty play.

It happened like this.

In a fourth-round flurry, Ortiz got Mayweather in a corner and was pounding away. OK. That is boxing.

But then, in the middle of it, he suddenly lunged head-first into Mayweather's mouth, a butt that cut the 41-0 superstar. Mayweather recoiled in shock and indignation and anger. Rightly so.

Referee Joe Cortez stepped in and immediately assessed a penalty point against Ortiz. Correctly so.

Then, after Ortiz went to Mayweather, smiling and apologizing, Cortez gathered the two in the middle of the ring, they touched gloves and each backed off a step for an instant. Then, with Cortez not even looking at the fighters and Ortiz looking like he was still waiting for some signal for the action to continue, Mayweather stepped forward and hit him with a shot in the mouth. Big left hand.

That sent Ortiz staggering backward and, in a flash, Mayweather followed with another shot, a huge right, that put Ortiz down and out for good. Cortez, who probably didn't see either shot, then counted Ortiz out and the uproar and boos cascaded down.

The fight was over. What Mayweather had done was basically legal. The fight was back on and the niceties were over. Mayweather was the more experienced fighter. He has lived through the wars and knew that when there is an advantage, you take it.

Cortez said afterward, "Time was in. The fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal."

The first thing Mayweather said in the ring afterward was, "You have to protect yourself at all times."

Ortiz said, "I obeyed [the ref] as I was told. Then, boom, he clocked me."

It got uglier.

HBO's Larry Merchant tried to corral Mayweather to interview him. Mayweather suggested Merchant just talk to Ortiz "since you've never given me a fair shake." He then used an expletive and questioned Merchant's knowledge of the sport, to which Merchant replied, "If I was 50 years younger, I'd kick your [rear]."

Merchant is 80.

And so, in a matter of seconds, a greatly anticipated boxing match — one that will pay Mayweather at least $25 million and perhaps as much as $40 million after they count the pay-per-view revenue — disintegrated into what looked like a brawl without rules or reason.

Ortiz got $2 million for his part in this and said, somewhat lamely afterward, "You can look at this a couple of ways. One is that I came to entertain the fans, and I did that."

The smell of a rematch is all over this one. The sales pitch is clear: Saturday's fight didn't really show what both can do, over an entire fight. How it ended leaves questions. And those questions can only be answered if we do it again. Golly, let's see if we can get people to pay for this TWICE!

In a postfight news conference, Ortiz demanded that rematch and said, "It wasn't a fair fight."

This one may, however, give fans great pause. They will be less interested in what was legal, as they are at what looked horrific — on both ends. Boxing made a lot of money Saturday night and may have lost a lot of friends and future customers. If you were a casual fan, maybe even paid the outrageous $59.95 pay-per-view fee, you left with a bad taste in your mouth.

This was more freak show than sporting event.

No, they aren't all like this. But this sort of thing makes ultimate fighting look like a tea party.

When the next big fight comes around, the hype starts and the talk implies an upcoming event of athletic skill and splendor, ponder buying tickets to the opera.

[diggity]

And I echo the earlier comment that I am also glad to see a lot of the CBZ gang chime in today.

It's too bad that boxing can't, doesn't and won't offer the fights the sport should have on a regular basis so we all have something interesting to talk about instead of the slim pickings we are offered these days...

[The Welterweight Epitome]

I haven't seen the whole fight as yet but from what I have seen it did appear that Ortiz was doing okay until the KO.

Anybody got a link to a quality version of the full fight? The youtube ones are horrible, at least those up at the moment.

As far as the fight PD, I'm not sure who said Ortiz was doing okay, because he was made to look like he didn't belong in the ring with Floyd. He wasn't landing any clean shots, wasn't pressuring hard and Floyd was relaxed and having fun in there, slowly breaking him down.

There is so much controversy over the ending and yes it was a buzz killer, but damn, Mayweathers performance in those 4 rounds just shows the quality magician that he is. He took Ortiz to school in there, those two perfectly timed right hands as Ortiz tried to come forward 2 times in quick succession were actually comical how easy he made it look.

On another note: That KO was as legit as they come, it was not a dive, Ortiz looked exactly like a man who had his lights temporarily turned out. As for the smiling afterwards, I initially thought it was a front ala Oscar after he loses, but perhaps he was actually glad he was stopped in the 4th rather than taking a prolonged beating only for the same eventual outcome. Ortiz is strong, fit, coordinated, but he is not a 'born fighter' so to speak.

[kikibalt]

By Randy De La O

I'm no fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr, never have been and most likely, never will be. What I am is a fan of the sport of boxing. As difficult as that can be at times, especially when someone like Mayweather is involved, I do try my absolute best to put aside my own personal bias and dislikes and focus just on the fighter and the fights. It's not always easy. Saturday night's fight between Mayweather and Victor Ortiz is a good example. Coming into this fight I wanted Ortiz to put the trash talking Mayweather in his place. I wasn't 100% sure he could but I was rooting for him to pull it off. The other reason I was rooting for Ortiz was that I wanted to see the guy redeem himself. I was hoping he would prove once and for all, that his blatant quitting in the Marcos Maidana fight was an anomaly, just something that happened, a one time quirky act. I thought that Ortiz understood what true character was, and that he was going to work like hell to prove himself. Maybe position himself along side some of the great fighters of the past.

Us guys from the West Coast and the L.A. fight scene are a proud bunch, We love our fighters and their exploits passionately. We have as rich a history in the sport as any town in the country, or the world too for that matter. We cherish and defend that history. The fighters that were either born here or came here to live and fight, range from the completely mediocre to the legendary. They trained at the Main Street Gym, the Teamsters Gym, the Hoover Street Gym and Canto Robledo's backyard gym. The names of these fighters stand with the best from anywhere in the world when it comes to courage, heart and fair play and they include fighters such as Manny Ortiz, Gil Cadilli, Kenny Teran, Art Aragon, Enrique Bolanos,Lauro Salas, Denny Moyer, Mando Ramos, Hedgeman Lewis, Randy Shields, Mando Muniz, Bobby Chacon, Danny "Little Red" Lopez, Rick Farris, Frankie Baltazar, Tony Baltazar, and more recently, Sugar Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya. I couldn't begin to list them all. Guys like Ruben Olivares, Chucho Castillo, Jesus Pimental came north from Mexico to lay it on the line at the Olympic Auditorium and the Forum because they knew L.A. was a fight town like no other and appreciated a fighter worth his salt. Art Hafey headed south from Canada to Southern California, to jump into the midst of what has come to be known as the "West Coast Featherweight Wars". The West Coast has been a hot bed of boxing for decades and L.A. has been the epicenter of it all. We don't care what nationality you are, what color you are are what your religion is. If you can fight and are willing, and can take it as good as you can give, than you are our kind of fighter. it's as simple as that. We'll be with you all the way.

Then along comes Victor Ortiz, wanting to stand tall with all the rest. Quit against Maidana and was given a second chance at a career. Positioned himself with one of the two pound for pound best fighters in the world, and was making a fight of it. Mayweather began picking up some steam and the fighter who has ironically come to be known as "Vicious" began to crumble. Ortiz had Mayweather against the ropes and was actually landing some good shots, when for reasons known only to him, he decided to take the low road with a headbutt so obviously intentionally a blind man would have had no trouble seeing it. Anomaly? No, lack of character, lack of true courage, a complete lack of fair play.

Am I being too harsh here? I don't think so. Given that Ortiz had a shot at redemption and spit in our eyes in the process, I think he's getting off easy. The crowd at the Staples Center, judging by the boos for Mayweather seem to be excusing Ortiz' behavior. Mayweather did what any sane fighter would and should do when facing a man who has already shown himself to be a cheater. I would lay some pretty good money that many of the same people that think Floyd sucker punched Ortiz, were jumping for joy a few years back when, Marco Antonio Barrera, like Mayweather, took matters into his own hands and grabbed Nassem Hamed in a half nelson and rammed him face first into the ring post. I don't recall ever hearing of one fan that thought Barrera was in the wrong. Neither was Floyd Mayweather in the wrong. But for the headbutt there would have been no controversy or knockout, at least not that particular knockout.

To borrow quote from Dorothy and "The Wizard of Oz", "Victor, you're not in Kansas anymore!"

[kikibalt]

Floyd Mayweather basks in aftermath of knockout of Victor Ortiz

Outspoken fighter, 34, says the decisive punch that caught his 24-year-old opponent off guard right after the referee gave the OK to resume fighting was the result of his vast experience.
Floyd Mayweather

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

September 18, 2011

Floyd Mayweather Jr. enhanced his villainous image by the way he registered a fourth-round knockout of Victor Ortiz on Saturday night.

By striking the instant he was allowed to punch after referee Joe Cortez stopped action to deduct a point from Ortiz for a head butt, Mayweather landed a left hand to Ortiz's face that stunned the welterweight champion from Ventura.

With Cortez and Ortiz caught off guard, Mayweather (42-0, 26 knockouts) then finished the fight with a devastating straight right hand to Ortiz's jaw that sent the 24-year-old to la-la land.

"I spaced a bit," said Ortiz, who asked Mayweather for a rematch, contending the punches were "not fair."

Mayweather, 34, chalked up the ending to his advantage in experience, and expressed no remorse after the frustrated, beaten-to-the-punch Ortiz (29-3-2) bloodied Mayweather's lip and mouth with the head butt.

"What goes around," Mayweather said, "comes around."

When HBO's Larry Merchant tried to interview Mayweather after the fight, Mayweather suggested the 80-year-old boxing analyst talk to Ortiz "since you've never given me a fair shake." Mayweather used an expletive and questioned Merchant's knowledge of the sport, to which Merchant replied, "If I was 50 years younger, I'd kick your [rear]."

Mayweather didn't exactly embrace Ortiz's rematch request.

"If he feels it was a fluke, I'll do the same thing again," Mayweather said. "But he was slowly breaking down as each round went. He was going to go down, anyway."

It's more likely that Ortiz will end up as a participant in a welterweight tournament his promoter, Richard Schaefer, will propose to HBO and Showtime this week.

Schaefer signed former junior-welterweight world champion Devon Alexander on Saturday, and said Alexander, Ortiz, Marcos Maidana, Andre Berto, Paulie Malignaggi and Lucas Matthysse are candidates to participate in a 147-pound tournament that will help increase those fighters' recognition.

Mayweather has more thoughts to ponder beyond a possible 2012 matchup with Manny Pacquiao, who fights Nov. 12 against Juan Manuel Marquez.

"I move when I want to move, and I fight when I want to fight," Mayweather said.

First, he has to deal with his criminal case.

Mayweather is due in Clark County (Nev.) Court on Oct. 15 for a preliminary hearing in his multi-felony domestic violence case in which the mother of his three children and some of the children are alleged victims.

"The only thing I can do is keep my fingers crossed," Mayweather said. "I chose the best team of attorneys I know. I know I haven't done anything. People want to create something because of who you are. With that [domestic] case, I say, 'Where are the pictures?'.

"The rest [claims by security guards] it's a bunch of bull. These guys say they got beat up, but they could walk to the hospital? It's not real."

Mayweather said after the bout he was unsure how much time he'd be away from the ring.

"I hope it's not this long," he said, referring to the 16-month layoff before he fought Ortiz.

He spent several minutes of his postfight news conference expressing skepticism about the Pacquiao fight, even though their schedules are close enough to meet in May.

Mayweather again pressed Pacquiao to commit to Olympic-standard testing for performance-enhancing drugs — Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum says the Filipino superstar will — and continued insinuating Pacquiao has engaged in doping even though Mayweather faces a defamation lawsuit on that matter.

"To say a guy goes from 105 pounds to this, and it's all natural … come on, man," Mayweather said.

He chided Pacquiao for "fighting all my leftovers," and lashed out at critics, complaining, "When I beat that little dude [Pacquiao], they're going to say he was too small or too old. They never appreciate me."

Mayweather said Pacquiao "doesn't want to fight me. Once he loses, it's over. They're tricking y'all saying they'll fight me. Don't be tricked."

Schaefer said he expects to discuss Mayweather's future with the fighter and his representatives within the next two or three weeks.

One of the top alternatives to Pacquiao is England's Amir Khan, the junior-welterweight world champion who could help create a major boxing event at London's Wembley Stadium.

Mayweather said, "I'm more popular in England than Khan," and added, "I'm loyal to MGM."

What mattered most to Mayweather was victory, and he appreciated being told his speed, defense and counter-punching were as strong as ever Saturday.

"Did I look sharp?" he said, smiling widely.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

[PD99]

Hey Welter,

When I get a chance, I'll watch the whole fight.

I think a crucial point here is that no one was under the illusion that there wasn't a wide gap in terms of pure boxing skill and that there would be periods, particularly in the early rds, in which the difference in skill level would be well exemplified.

Numerous bouts have played out exactly in that fashion only to see the tenacity and will of the lesser skilled guy pay increasing dividends as the fight wore on. After the first 3-4 rds of say Ali-Frazier III or Holmes-Norton, one may well have written off the latter guys. If those guys (Frazier and Norton) simply dropped tools as did Ortiz (wash my mouth out with soap) we might have just as easily suggested that they "punked" out because they were copping a good going over and heading toward inevitable defeat anyway.

Just from the H/Ls, I did not see a decidedly comfortable Mayweather bailed up against the ropes copping a few shots. Admittedly against opposition of less than elite skills, a peak Roy Jones Jr used to play that game but with some measure of delince, Roy began getting bashed by guys who weren't fooled into believing that they weren't doing any damage.

The biggest weakness in Ortiz's game, as forecast, was his lack of mental toughness - I doubt any of pundit could have predicted that Ortiz would punctuate their forecast as perfectly and dramatically as he did.

Imo, as good as Floyd was - and yes, Floyd still looked very good, the over-riding influence on the outcome, exactly as that outcome played out, was more about Ortiz's deficiencies in mental toughness than Mayweather's profiencies in skill.

Just a side note - Mayweather's more flat footed, pro-aggressive approach in recent times has been duly noted. Perhaps simply a by-product of a loss of step. Just a guess but perhaps too Floyd is steeling himself and progressively morphing his style that little bit for a bout v Pac down the track.

Imo, if Mayweather stayed exactly as is (v prime Pac) I think Floyd would've ultimately been swept away by the hurricane before him - I think PBF perhaps realised this also. We can talk mental toughness but if you're disposed to belief that Mayweather has been avoiding Pac (I am) then Floyd's own mental durability can be brought into question.

At least in the last 3 or so yrs, I'm pretty sure that Mayweather has only engaged in fights that he really felt he WOULD win thus his every endeavour to distance himself from a bout v Manny Pacquiao any which way he can. At the same time, maybe PBF has come to realise that such a bout (v Pac) is a MUST if he (Mayweather) is to prevent his legacy from being hopelessly tarnished and perhaps he is using each and every bout that ISN'T v Pac to ultimately warm himself up for that VERY fight with the good possibility that Pac himself will suffer an accomodating decline in his own skills.

PS - Yrs back in boxing history, it was difficult enough to make a call when factoring sheer skill set v skill set. Generally, the basic premise was each man came to fight and reasonably apply himself for better or worse.

Now, we have to factor in the nuances of each and every fighter's all too delicate psyche into the equation. Jeeze Louise.

[Kid Dynamite]

I don't think Mayweather is ramping up for a fight against Pacman. Mayweather has avoided Cotto, Margahrito, prime Mosley, Pacman etc etc and instead has feed on the Gatti's and shot fighters for five years... Mayweather hasnt taken a risk in the ring since he fought Jose Luis Castillo back in 2002. His ego I think it to fragile to even consider getting in the ring with some who has the capability of possibly taking his undefeated record. Mayweather in the post fight interview was already granting Ortiz a rematch instead of talking about the fight that everyone wants to see (pacman).

[Phillyfan]

I don't think Mayweather is ramping up for a fight against Pacman. Mayweather has avoided Cotto, Margahrito, prime Mosley, Pacman etc etc and instead has feed on the Gatti's and shot fighters for five years... Mayweather hasnt taken a risk in the ring since he fought Jose Luis Castillo back in 2002. His ego I think it to fragile to even consider getting in the ring with some who has the capability of possibly taking his undefeated record. Mayweather in the post fight interview was already granting Ortiz a rematch instead of talking about the fight that everyone wants to see (pacman).

What? avoided cotto,margarito,prime mosely? Just like PBF says, I fight ortiz, he's too young, i fight mosely, he's too old. What was hatton? too british?
Floyd has fought top contender after top contender, champion after champion and beaten them all. Would cotto have done any better than corrales?
mayweather did not say he was granting ortiz a rematch, he was asked a question if he would and he responded good naturely "sure, I'm not hiding from anyone."
Was everyone this outraged when leonard forced hagler to wait for a match?
Yes, mayweather is cocky. You give a kid 50 million and expect him to be humble. Boxing is a sport of egos. Best man wins. You need some sort of ego to believe you can be champion.
floyd will be missed when he finally does retire. There are those that hated Ali, saying he was too cocky. Now he's beloved and you look back at his antics and smile.
Floyd stands in the middle of the ring and backs up his words. What else can you ask of a fighter. He's headbutted in the face and expected not to take his opponent out when given the opportunity?
you see any other fighter calling the troops and thanking them?

[Phillyfan]

And shame on larry merchant. He did the same thing to hopkins after the hakkar fight, basically asking if bernard wasn't ashamed of the quality of fighters he was facing. Bernard had to school larry on what "mandatory" meant. When a fighter is in the ring after a victory, you shouldn't try to get some type of 'gotcha' response, much like gray once did to pete rose. In the middle of the ring, right after a victory, on live tv is not the time to try and upstage a boxer. Merchant is no longer adding color and commentary, he is becomming the story.

[JaKob]

What? avoided cotto,margarito,prime mosely? Just like PBF says, I fight ortiz, he's too young, i fight mosely, he's too old. What was hatton? too british?
Floyd has fought top contender after top contender, champion after champion and beaten them all. Would cotto have done any better than corrales?
mayweather did not say he was granting ortiz a rematch, he was asked a question if he would and he responded good naturely "sure, I'm not hiding from anyone."
Was everyone this outraged when leonard forced hagler to wait for a match?
Yes, mayweather is cocky. You give a kid 50 million and expect him to be humble. Boxing is a sport of egos. Best man wins. You need some sort of ego to believe you can be champion.
floyd will be missed when he finally does retire. There are those that hated Ali, saying he was too cocky. Now he's beloved and you look back at his antics and smile.
Floyd stands in the middle of the ring and backs up his words. What else can you ask of a fighter. He's headbutted in the face and expected not to take his opponent out when given the opportunity?
you see any other fighter calling the troops and thanking them?

Although i think there are people looking to criticize floyd at every turn his competition at WW has hardly been stellar. The depth of the talent pool hasn't been great either and thats beyond his control. As with pacquaio there are those looking to critique him and those looking to elevate him at every turn.

I absolutely think Cotto would of done better than corrales. Personally i think Cotto is overlooked in terms of what his chances are against the likes of Floyd. The major knock against him is his vunerability. He can be hit and he can be hurt. However on the front foot when he captures the momentum he is a very effective fighter. A strong, hard hitting, skilled, quick, well conditioned offensive fighter. Not a great fighter, but a very good offensive boxer-puncher who i think had all the tools to implement an effective fight against floyd. Floyd isn't a 'dangerous' puncher and i think Cotto is durable enough to take the punishment necessary to force his fight. He has a authoritative left jab that he could work behind. He is a fighter capable of applying skilllful pressure behind a left jab and following up to the body. He is one fighter i really wished Floyd had faced and i don't think it would be the one sided fight many think it would.

Mayweather may be missed by some. Not by me. The parallel between him and Ali is not an accurate one IMO. Ali showed far more humility, class, and good humour along side that nasty streak of his than Floyd ever has.

A fine boxer... that i do not refute.

[Theo Netherland]

[Theo Netherland]

I hope this keeps working, this is really the whole fight!

[JaKob]

Wont be up long lol! something like keepvid.com can be used to rip it though.

[Theo Netherland]

At least I could try...

[Phillyfan]

Although i think there are people looking to criticize floyd at every turn his competition at WW has hardly been stellar. The depth of the talent pool hasn't been great either and thats beyond his control. As with pacquaio there are those looking to critique him and those looking to elevate him at every turn.

I absolutely think Cotto would of done better than corrales. Personally i think Cotto is overlooked in terms of what his chances are against the likes of Floyd. The major knock against him is his vunerability. He can be hit and he can be hurt. However on the front foot when he captures the momentum he is a very effective fighter. A strong, hard hitting, skilled, quick, well conditioned offensive fighter. Not a great fighter, but a very good offensive boxer-puncher who i think had all the tools to implement an effective fight against floyd. Floyd isn't a 'dangerous' puncher and i think Cotto is durable enough to take the punishment necessary to force his fight. He has a authoritative left jab that he could work behind. He is a fighter capable of applying skilllful pressure behind a left jab and following up to the body. He is one fighter i really wished Floyd had faced and i don't think it would be the one sided fight many think it would.

Mayweather may be missed by some. Not by me. The parallel between him and Ali is not an accurate one IMO. Ali showed far more humility, class, and good humour along side that nasty streak of his than Floyd ever has.

A fine boxer... that i do not refute.

just for sake or argument, floyd never called his opponent gorilla or uncle Tom. Ali had his trouble with women too. Ali had an entourage. Ali had his wrestling match with inoki, floyd with the big show. Ali appeared on stage, floyd on dancing with the stars. Ali spoke in rhyme, floyd in rap.

as for competition, one could argue marcianos wasn't exactly murderers row.

just playing a little devils advocate.

[PD99]

What? avoided cotto,margarito,prime mosely? Just like PBF says, I fight ortiz, he's too young, i fight mosely, he's too old. What was hatton? too british?
Floyd has fought top contender after top contender, champion after champion and beaten them all. Would cotto have done any better than corrales?
mayweather did not say he was granting ortiz a rematch, he was asked a question if he would and he responded good naturely "sure, I'm not hiding from anyone."

So, if I'm correctly feeling the flow here - so what was/is Pacquiao? Too Good? Conveniently side-stepped upon the completely unfounded accusation that he used PEDs?

As to comparing Ali. I was too young during Ali's hey day to present as a first hand witness but yeah, as the literature and vision can attest to, Ali could be real douche at times. Does what Ali ever said and did compare to some of Floyd's b.s? Sure, there is some common ground but, imo, Floyd has brought his stuff to whole new low level.

Btw, where's Ali's rap sheet or needlessly self-publicised family squabbles? Or, and most importantly, Ali's flagrant avoidance of his # 1 challenger while still unashamedly indulging himself in the berating of that challenger and audaciously glorifying himself as the BEST? Whatever Ali had to say about himself it was always underscored by his genuinely seeking and actually facing the best man of the moment - be it Liston, Terrell, Frazier, Foreman etc.

Jakob is right though. You have to separate church and state and be careful not to over step the mark by not affording Mayweather his just due as a boxer notwithstanding your opinion of him as a person. With all that, he will not be missed by me either.

[JaKob]

just for sake or argument, floyd never called his opponent gorilla or uncle Tom. Ali had his trouble with women too. Ali had an entourage. Ali had his wrestling match with inoki, floyd with the big show. Ali appeared on stage, floyd on dancing with the stars. Ali spoke in rhyme, floyd in rap.

as for competition, one could argue marcianos wasn't exactly murderers row.

just playing a little devils advocate.

Like i said. Ali had more humility, class, and good humour ALONGSIDE his nasty streak. Floyd has none to be seen. Completely and utterly classless.

[Phillyfan]

would I love to see floyd vs pac, absolutely! And time will tell if the deal is made. But you can hear it allready, they didn't fight in their prime, etc...
leonard never fought pryor and he made hagler wait. Pintor never fought chandler. Yet I don't hear the same hatred when those fighters are discussed.
where people point out floyds flaws, i see him calling the troops and handing out food to the homeless. All evil deeds are instantly reported, the good ones aren't as newsworthy.
Bottom line, in the ring, floyd mayweather is right up there P4P and has been for a long time.

[Michael Frank]

Again, as the guy who likely least likes Floyd, I feel a small need to defend him. NO, he's no Ali, not by a mile. In ANY way, boxing or otherwise. Not that Ali was any saint. Floyd degrades himself, boxing, his family, and others with his low-life gangster/ghetto behavior and the rest, the bragging about money as he did a lot of in the past, and the rap.

However, I'm not sure I see this "mean streak" of his. Underneath it all, he clearly has problems, like everyone else. Money doesn't solve everything, and I believe some would have more sympathy for him if he wasn't wealthy . . . as well as if he also didn't have such a big mouth.

But I don't see this mean streak, maybe I just don't follow him closely enough.

[Punchdrunk]

I am not a big fan of Floyd. I do give him props for being a great boxer. Remember, the guys are PRIZEFIGHTERS. When all is said and done, some may say that Floyd was a promotional genius. He can possibly end up (if not already) as earning more than any other fighter in history. His thug, no class persona brings as many fans as any polite classy type fighter has. Ortiz fucked himself and Maywhether capitalized. All the aftermath and controversy will end up a positive. More fans will buy the next one. And Floyd really does not give a rat's ass about what we all think, he just wants to see the money.

[Phillyfan]

I just thinks its interesting. Ali said "he was the greatest", hagler changed his his name to marvelous, hamed flew into the ring on a magic carpet, Yet floyd is labled cocky. Delahoya is in rehab, mosely accused of steroids, hopkins was in jail, yet floyd is the one degrading himself?
The man did not win the lottery and didn't inherit anything. He earned every cent. Nice to see a boxer make some money.
Floyd is no Ali, yet a lot of things negatively said about him were also said about Ali. Floyd runs around with gangsta crowd but people were saying the same negative things when Ali ran around with the black muslim crowd.
All I care about is he gets in shape for a fight and gives it his all.
I think his tears were genuine at his press conference. He just spent 3 months working his tail off, wins the fight, and all anyone asks him about is pacman. That and the fight was tainted, yet he was the one headbutted in the face. Thats got to wear on a person. I really didn't hear any praise for getting in the ring against a younger, stronger fighter, who was also a champion, and comming out the winner.
so he has bling, he's keeping the jewelers in business. He collects cars, so does leno. Seems like delahoya is teflon while floyd is glue for any negativity.

[Theo Netherland]

IMO the reason why guys like Ali Delahoya Leonard Foreman and others have become so popular is because of their skills looks and talks. Floyd Mayweather may have, or could’ve had, the same but ‘everything’ is so bitter, so soar, about him. Even Mike Tyson with his bad reputation surpasses him. And Floyds nickname money is I believe also a bad choice. I don’t think Mayweather did anything wrong in this fight but Ortiz will turn out to be the moral winner. This guy has great future ahead and can make money just by being himself. He has everything going for him to be like all the popular champions before him.

[The Welterweight Epitome]

All fair points Philly.

I'm not sure why there is so much talk about negatives in boxing either. The ref, Floyds personal antics. I'm a boxing fan, and I see a defensive, counter punching picasso in there, exactly the type of fighter I enjoy watching. For me, he can do what he wants, but where he displays the sweet science, I can't help but watch in awe.

Just re-watched the fight, pretty much exactly how I remember it live. Floyd was barely tagged flush once and was finding his range and losening up. Victor was in for a 'vicious' beating if he stayed in the fight, which would have been a great spectacle of skill. That is what kills my buzz. But unfortunate comes with the territory in boxing. It never ends how you expected it to.

Look at 3:36 in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkN-7...eature=related

Remind you of anything?

[Phillyfan]

All fair points Philly.

I'm not sure why there is so much talk about negatives in boxing either. The ref, Floyds personal antics. I'm a boxing fan, and I see a defensive, counter punching picasso in there, exactly the type of fighter I enjoy watching. For me, he can do what he wants, but where he displays the sweet science, I can't help but watch in awe.

Just re-watched the fight, pretty much exactly how I remember it live. Floyd was barely tagged flush once and was finding his range and losening up. Victor was in for a 'vicious' beating if he stayed in the fight, which would have been a great spectacle of skill. That is what kills my buzz. But unfortunate comes with the territory in boxing. It never ends how you expected it to.

well said epitome. I love watching floyd in the ring.
out of the ring he has his flaws. But Sugar ray just wrote a book about his flaws and he is also teflon. It seems every fight of mayweathers, there's some excuse. delahoya was past his prime, gatti never had a chance, corrales lost too much weight, mosely was too old, marquez too light, ortiz too young, hatton to much of a brawler. judahs hitting him low, ortiz is headbutting, yet they call floyd dirty.
I think "money" is a funny nickname, better than pretty boy. I think its great he went on dancing with the stars and had fun with wrestling. He's criticized for it, yet Ali wrestled and roy jones played a basketball game before one of his fights.Pacman, holmes, and frazier released records. Its all part of the show. All I care is he brings it in the ring and Its like watching a master craftsman at work.

[Phillyfan]

Interesting link. I wonder what mosely said to him. As floyd would probably say, are you in there to talk or are you in there to box.

[Crold1]

A Money Shot: Weekend Review and Ratings Update

By Cliff Rold

In July 1927, trying to recapture his mojo after losing the Heavyweight title to Gene Tunney, the great Jack Dempsey was getting outboxed by the younger Jack Sharkey. Sharkey would one day go on to win the crown. He had some learning to do yet. Working inside in the seventh, Dempsey went below the belt, threw his left shoulder into the face of Sharkey, and then hit him another couple stiff rights to the jock. Holding the left arm of Sharkey as Sharkey grimaced and turned his head to complain of the foul blows, Dempsey finished his man with a thunderous left hook.

It’s one of the many fondly recalled, chuckled about, almost Bunyan-esque elements of the Dempsey legend.

On Saturday night in Las Vegas, lineal World Welterweight Champion Floyd Mayweather was on the receiving end of one of the more blatant, nasty fouls in recent memory. Having what, to then, was his best moment and round of the fight, Victor Ortiz was doing good work along the ropes. He landed a couple rights.

Then, inexplicably, Ortiz all but leapt, forehead first, into the face of Mayweather for an intentional butt. It was a jaw dropping moment of stupidity. Mayweather didn’t bitch, complain, or go nuts.

Mayweather kept composed.

Had Ortiz gone to the neutral corner, shrugged, and snarled, it might have made sense. Instead, he came apart, hugging, kissing, touching gloves again, losing a point, and then going to hug again. Ten seconds later, he was done.

Was it a sucker punch? Absolutely. Was that a bad thing?

Absolutely not.

Dempsey would have been proud.

Let’s go to the report card.