Weighing in on Mayweather - Ortiz

Now, I've never been one to take to literary mediums to express my opinions, as the multimedia world has always been my forte; yet, after watching the playground fight that took place between Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Victor Ortiz on Saturday night, I feel as if it is finally time that I weigh in. So here goes:

If you were lucky enough to catch HBO's 24/7 special covering the weeks leading up to the fight, you would recall the pre-fight interview during which the seemingly quiet Ortiz accused the never short on words Floyd Mayweather of being nervous. Among today's elite boxers, Cash Money's numbers are as good as it gets. Putting his perfect 41-0 [now 42-0] record on the side for a moment, Mayweather's plus-minus is nearly double that of any other in the game- landing 46% of his punches and limiting his opponents to a measly 16%. So, was it wise to call out the 34 year-old Mayweather, who was pounding opponents into grain before the 24 year-old Ortiz began waiving the wheat? I'll leave that for you to decide.

I'll refrain from getting into much depth about Ortiz's entrance to the ring because "lezzzbehonest," no one really cares. If not for the throwback Kansas Jayhawk on his trunks, I would have just skipped right over it. But hey, you can't blame a guy for slugging his school. 

Now that, that's taken care of, I can move on to the main attraction.

Wearing his companion's belts like a toga of bling, Curtis "50 cent" Jackson escorted a man who, on first site, appeared to be the black Fred Flinstone, but was later confirmed to be Floyd Mayweather- my mistake. Mayweather's entrance alone surely had a cost greater than any dad would spend on his daughter's Super Sweet Sixteen, proving that he is, at the very least, a show.

Michael Buffer did his thing, cue the bell, and it wasn't long before Money May began landing his signature right-hand leads that made Ortiz's face flap like a dog shaking water off- literally. Ortiz remained aggressive throughout the fight, showing flashes of his true ability in the second and third rounds, but was ultimately outmatched by the faster and more technically sound Mayweather.

Enter round four.

The fourth round, to put simply, had it all. Both fighters came out strong, exchanging a number of blows hard enough to get Marky-Mark and the rest of the over-amped Vegas crowd up on its feet. At one point, Ortiz actually appeared to have the veteran on his heels, but, taking a page out of Mr. T's book in his Rocky III role as Clubber Lang, Mayweather simply brushed off the young-gun's advances with a smirk on his face that said, "you aint $h!t."

Maybe it was Mayweather's cocky attitude or the fact that he appeared virtually unscathed by Ortiz's blows that sent everything down hill, all I can say is that in a mere 14 seconds, this title fight shifted from a match between two professionals, to some school yard bull$h!t.

Here's the breakdown:
-14 seconds: Ortiz pins Mayweather against the ropes and throw's an "accidental" head-butt.

-9 seconds: Referee Joe Cortez calls time and deducts a point from Ortiz / Ortiz apologizes for the first time.

-Joe Cortez calls time in: Ortiz tries to hug it out for a second time and Mayweather hits him with a left cross, right hook.

-1 second:  Ortiz is knocked on his KansA$$, and, as Mayweather said in his post-fight interview, "that's all she wrote."

Of all the craziness that went down in the ring, there was none more than that of which occurred during Mayweather's post-fight interview with the ancient Larry Merchant. As is tradition, Money May neglected to properly answer any of the 80 year-old commentator's questions, taking the defense for the first time of the night as he shouted, "HBO need to fire you, you don't know $h!t about boxing." Now, the very thought of being verbally abused by Floyd Mayweather is enough to make any man back down, especially one of age. Yet, as quickly as the fight had ended, Merchant snapped back with a remark that undeniably crowned him the true champion of the evening: 

"I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your a$$." #Winning.

Final Fraze: "A message for Mayweather"
Ortiz was showing an act of respect [for an unnecessary second time] after a cheap head-butt. First dirty move. With that said, if you are 41-0, act like it. Mayweather was dominating the fight anyways, just look at the stats- Mayweather had landed 73 punches to Ortiz's 26. Why put a question mark on a nearly perfect performance? Is it plausible to believe that Mayweather was pissed off about the head-butt and reacted out of anger? Sure. But if you are truly the best, be the best- you shouldn't have to sucker punch your way to a victory. At the end of the day, the rule is that a fighter needs to protect himself at all times, and, however unpopular a move it may be, there is nothing in the rules about showing class- that's simply just one thing Cash Money Mayweather cannot train for.