Mayweather Jr vs Ortiz street fight and other results from Saturday
With referee Joe Cortez standing over him, Victor Ortiz is down for the count.
Years from now, boxing fans will be looking back at tonight’s results and see where Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocked out Victor Ortiz in the fourth round of their scheduled 10 rounder at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to win the WBC Welterweight title.
They won’t be privy to what really transpired. They’ll be saying, “Boy, that Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) was surely the greatest of them all. He knocked Ortiz out and Ortiz was not only bigger but outweighed him by 13 pounds for that fight.”
Miss Jackson, the fiance of Floyd Mayweather Jr., attends the post-fight news conference at the MGM Grand. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Sweet and simple, bottom line, Ortiz made a b#### move and ended up paying for it. At the time, he was frustrated and losing his patience. The brawler tried to use his head as a battering ram and it was blatant. Of course that’s illegal and a point was taken away. The boxers were separated as the referee grabbed Ortiz’s right hand and took him to the center of the ring to signal a point deduction to all three judges.
At this point Ortiz apologized as if his actions were a simple slip-up, a gaffe, an accident. Ortiz gave Mayweather an embrace, a kiss and then touched gloves. Then, like a bolt of lightning, Mayweather Jr landed a two punch combination. Was it legal? Yes, according to the comatose referee who was supposedly in control of this fight. After all, before each fight aren’t the boxers told, “Protect yourselves at all times?”
People are now going to get all over Mayweather and talk their trash. Remember this. There are no formal ceremonies pertaining to these rather contrived apologies from someone who just got done attempting a blatant head butt. Floyd saw an opportunity, seized it, and knocked his opponent out. The boxers were in the center of the ring to fight and Mayweather acted coyly as if he was in a forgiving mood, as if saying, “You’re right, let’s let bygones be bygones.” Unaccustomed to his opponent’s poker face, Ortiz was a sitting duck and got caught by surprise.
To quote Ken Bolden of Bayside High School: “Floyd is not a dirty fighter thats not his M.O…but quiting when he’s frustrated is obviously Ortiz’s. Ortiz’s apology was bull#### F### with the Bull and you get the Horns.”
If there’s any blame to be placed for what happened, it has to sit squarely on the shoulders of the official, Joe Cortez. Once again, Cortez did not do his job. He should have had his eyes on the boxers or if that was impossible, he should have at least called a time out before his eyes strayed. Anytime you see an official during a bout looking elsewhere, it’s clear that person should not be officiating the contest.
If we give the true sponsors of Saturday's boxing show a platform to speak, this is what they'd say: This whole thing is a scam. If Money Mayweather were here right now, we’d ask him about that remark he made earlier in the week. The one about, “It’s all about entertaining the fans.” We’d tell him face to face, "Hogwash!" He’s not into entertaining anyone. His only interest is money. The stench of a call for a rematch is all over this one and the sales pitch is clear: "This fight didn't really show what they can do over an entire fight. Questions went unanswered. Questions that can only be answered if we do it again. I'm sure they're thinking, "Shall we see if we can get the suckers to pay twice." That could be a tall order
Referee Joe Cortez calls a timeout after the intentional head butt by Victor Ortiz.
Imagine if that head-butt had been successful. Then we would have been piling on Ortiz. The fact of the matter is, the match turned out to be a street fight, rather than a boxing match. It is the job of the official in the ring to insure the rules are not broken. What fans look forward to is watching a fair contest between gentlemen of honor who are willing to perform on a level playing field.
Rapper 50 Cent gets a hug from Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the post-fight news conference after Mayweather Jr. knocked out Victor Ortiz in the WBC welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photo: Ethan Miller of Getty Images
After Floyd Mayweather Jr. blasted Larry Merchant with expletives, the veteran boxing analyst stood there in amazement. 'Am I dreaming, did he just call me a ....?'
I’m wondering if HBO is going to edit out that exchange between Mayweather and long time boxing interviewer Larry Merchant. In it, Mayweather got testy and began spewing his venom at Merchant. Twice he called him a sh## and then Merchant said he wished he was 50 years younger so he could kick Mayweather’s a##. Since Merchant is no spring chicken; he is 80 years old, perhaps he should have been the one to handle this situation more tactfully.
Lou Messina, a local boxing manager, had this to say about Merchant’s wish. “If he was 50 years younger, he still wouldn’t have a chance. We don’t even know if Manny Pacquiao has a chance. Merchant must be overdosing on Viagara.”
I’m wondering if HBO’s top brass is planning on giving us a steady diet of Mayweather Jr. rants. After all it was HBO’s 24/7 that aired that episode where Junior had his father thrown out of his gym in an expletive-filled exchange. It kind of pathetic to see what some people will do to keep their name and face in the headlines.
Results from the Undercard:
It was just a matter of time before Saul Alvarez caught Alfonso Gomez with a big punch. Photo credit: Paul Gallegos
Wham! Sure looks like someone was throwing a low blow. Photo credit: Paul Gallegos
- One boxer threw softballs, the other through hardballs. Photo credit: Paul Gallegos
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez held on to his 154-pound title by stopping Alfonso Gomez at 2:36 of the sixth round. The wildly popular Mexican fighter (38-0-1, 28 KOs) met Gomez at Staples Center as part of the two-city pay-per-view card.
Alvarez began by knocking Gomez (23-5-2) down with a left hook late in round one. Gomez, who fought on the reality TV series “The Contender,” rallied back but posed no real threat to the harder-punching Alvarez. The end came in the sixth round when the defenseless Gomez got caught by an uppercut and then a barrage of left and right combinations.
Erik Morales (R) and Pablo Cesar Cano (L) pose for a photo at a press conference before their fight on Saturday, September 17, 2011
Erik Morales stops Pablo Cesar Cano to capture WBC junior welterweight title
From the second round on Morales (52-7, 36 KOs) turned up the pressure and started testing the younger boxer’s desire to trade punches. Cano (22-1-1, 17 KOs) gave the veteran plenty of punches in return, but Morales was definitely landing the harder and more punishing blows. By the sixth round, the left eye of Cano began to swell. Then in the seventh, a cut over the left eye of Morales opened up.
In the eighth round, Morales came out throwing and busted Cano’s nose. Both of Cano’s eyes were swelling up and the damage on his face was starting to look serious. Morales’ face was not doing that well either.
The nose of Cano was bleeding bad and Morales was coming on strong in both the ninth and tenth. The merciful end came at the end of the tenth round.
According to the three judges at Staples Center on Saturday night, San Diego’s Antonio Orozco (now 12-0) pitched a perfect shutout on against Fernando Rodriguez who ended up losing his fifth straight.
Jesse Vargas (L) and Joesisto Lopez pose for a photo on media day prior to their fight on Saturday, September 17, 2011.
Welterweight Jesse Vargas (17-0-0) defeated Josesito Lopez (29-3-0)
Super middleweight, Adonis Stevenson (15-1-0, 12 KOs) took out Dion Savage (11-2-0, 6 KOs) at 1:57 of Round #1.
Super middleweight Marco Antonio Periban (15-0-0, 10 KOs) defeated Dhafir Smith who drops to 24-22-7
Lightweight Anthony Crolla (22-2-0, 9 KOs) defeated Juan Montiel (5-5-3)
Also on Saturday, Mercito Gesta (23-0-1, 12 KOs) of San Diego won a 10 round unanimous decision victory over Manuel Perez at the Blue Water Resort & Casino in Parker, Arizona. Perez has now lost three of his last five.
