Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz

Stats

Floyd Mayweather

Age: 34

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Nickname: "Money"

Height: 5'8"

Reach: 72"

Stance: Orthodox

Record: 41-0 (25 knockouts)

Ranking: Former pound-for-pound and welterweight king (removed due to inactivity)

Titles Held: WBC Junior Lightweight (1998-2002); WBC Lightweight (2002-2004); WBC Junior Welterweight (2004-2005); IBF Welterweight (2006-2008); WBC Junior Middleweight (2007)

Victor Ortiz

Age: 24

Hometown: Oxnard, CA

Nickname: "Vicious"

Height: 5'9"

Reach: 70"

Stance: Southpaw

Record: 29-2-2 (22 knockouts)

Ranking: #2 Welterweight

Titles Held: WBC Welterweight (2011-current)

*All stats and rankings are based off of "The Ring" Magazine

        Fall is finally here, and with it comes the return of Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Unlike the Fall however, we can never be sure as to when it is Mayweather will come back. For those who are debating whether or not to watch this fight, there is no denying that this is THE most significant boxing event of the year. Some might argue that Pacquiao vs. Marquez III will be the more significant, but that fight doesn't offer nearly as much intrique nor excitement in regards to what the outcome might be. This match-up has all signs that point to a great fight. It offer's a veteran of the sport going up against a young up-an-comer with some of the most brutal punching power in boxing today. It also has the makings to be an exciting fight which really couldn't have been said about Mayweather's previous couple of outings. Instead of going up against an aging fighter he has chosen a to fight Ortiz who is bigger, faster, and stronger then Mayweather himself. Some signs point to  Mayweather looking to face Pacquiao after this, but that point is for another day and another article. For now, let's focus on the fight at hand and see how it might play out.

Floyd Mayweather weighs-in before his
Sep. 17th bout against Victor Ortiz.

        What can be said about Floyd that hasn't been said already? It's true that Floyd has his share of personal and legal issues, but there is no denying that he is one of the greatest American-born boxers of all-time. He is flashy, he is boastful, he is arrogant, and he is one of the best things that could happen to the sport today. Mayweather is a master of promotion. Whether you are a die-hard fan or a fan that prefers he die, the man puts meat in the seats with people curious to see whether he keeps that (0) at the end of his record. Aside from his promotional skills, Floyd is one of the best, if not the best, all-around boxers in the sport today. Floyd is a defensive master, who also possesses stopping power in both hands. Although he hasn't shown it recent since he has adopted more of a counter-punching role, one just has to look at his earlier fights for proof of this. Come Saturday, Mayweather will be coming off a 16-month layoff of inactivity due to his recent legal troubles. Before the lay-off, his most recent-win was a dominant unanimous decision win over an again Shane Mosley. What was interesting about this fight was how Mayweather was able to recover so well after getting tagged by booming straight right from Mosley. This proved to everyone that although Floyd could be hit, yet he still owns one of the best chins in the sport today as far as being able to recover. In this fight he also showed just how bad he can make a fighter look by constantly counter-punching, and forcing his opponent to hit nothing but the air. These are Floyd's biggest attributes coming into Saturday night's fight. If Floyd can control the pace as well as the distance he will be safe from Ortiz powerful right-hook. If he survives the early on-slaught by Ortiz expect Floyd to start counter-punching a tired Ortiz en-route to a dominant decision win.

Victor Ortiz (left) batters Andre Berto (right) en-
route to a stoppage win and his first major title.

At one time in his career, Ortiz was thought of as a waste of talent and a quitter. This reputation came after he quit in the sixth-round of a shoot-out against Junior Welterweight fringe contender, Marcos Maidana (30-2-0). Ortiz decided it was best to officially move up in weight, but this cloud of negativity still seemed to surround him. In his last outing however, Ortiz was able to silence his detractors with an exciting back-and-forth win over one-time titlist Andre Berto (28-1-0) in what is considered the best fight of the year so far.  In this fight Ortiz showed that he could take a shot (was knocked down twice in this fight), while still being able to recover. This alone seemed to finally destroy the reputation he earned of a "quitter" when he fought Maidana. Another thing of note was the fact that Ortiz looked massive in his new weight-class. Instead of looking lanky and dried-out, he looked filled-out and muscular which means this was his natural weight-class all along. His never say die attitude, and his sheer size for the weight class are Ortiz' biggest advantages come Saturday night. What could cause Floyd the most trouble though is the fact that Ortiz is a southpaw. Floyd has been shown to have trouble against southpaw fighters, and there is no doubt that Ortiz is toughest of the ones he has faced. The current odds make it seem like Ortiz doesn't have much of a chance, but in reality that couldn't be farther from the truth. Ortiz can win this fight by controlling the pace from the opening bell, and immediatley going on the offensive. One thing Floyd has always had trouble with was a right hook from a southpaw fighter, and best thing Ortiz can do is throw it and throw it often. If Ortiz follows this gameplan along with mixing in a straight-left with his right hook combo there is no doubt that he can put Mayweather down. This is especially true considering Ortiz is the only man who has scored a knockdown against all of his opponents. I'm doubtful that Ortiz can shut off Mayweather's lights, but he can do just enough to force the ref to halt the bout.

Prediction:
        At the opening bell both fighters will come out tentatively. The first minute will involve both trying to feel each other out with Ortiz throwing the harder shots as Mayweather looks for a counter-punch. At the second, Ortiz will come out pushing the offense and both fighters will begin to exchange. As Ortiz throws punches, Mayweather will roll away from them but will still get stung by a couple of hard shots. All the while Floyd will attack the body as he continues to counter-punch. In the third, Ortiz will tag Mayweather forcing him to jump on his bike and try to regroup. After stalling a bit by holding on to Ortiz, Mayweather will eventually be saved by the bell. By the fourth round Floyd has recovered and already knows what to expect after feeling Ortiz' power. Ortiz will try to rush again, but this time Mayweather will roll under the punch and counter with a thudding left cross. Ortiz will be rocked, but as Mayweather tries to capitalize the bell will wrong. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Ortiz will begin to go into desperation and he fights off the effects of the last round's shot and the onset of exhaustion. He will begin swinging for the fences, and hoping to score a knockdown against Floyd. Unfortunately for Ortiz, Mayweather is able to read him like a book and has taken complete control of this fight based on his slick defense and beautiful counter-shots. Mayweather will continue this same pattern as Ortiz becomes more exhausted and more desperate. After the twelfth round, Mayweather will be awarded a unanimous decision win along with a fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Things quickly turn sour after both fighters hit the scale the day before their
Sept. 17 contest.

Pick: Floyd Mayweather def. Victor Ortiz via Unanimous Decision

Quick Picks
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Alfonso Gomez
In the co-main event of the evening, Mexican super-star "Canelo" Alvarez is paired against Alfonso Gomez. There's not really much to say about this fight. Gomez is no where near the same-level as some of "Canelo"'s past opponents so I don't see him offering much here aside from a pay-day for Alvarez. "Canelo" will take control from the on-set, and win via stoppage in the fourth.
Pick: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez def. Alfonso Gomez via referee stoppage

Erik "El Terrible" Morales vs. Pablo Cesar Cano
In another under-card fight on the pay-per-view, aging Mexican star will face largely untested, and very last-minute opponent Pablo Cano. Due to Cano taking this fight in close to a weeks notice I don't see this being much of a competition. Morales will win a one-sided affair, and will earn the meaningless WBC belt that was practically gift-wrapped to him.
Pick: Erik Morales def. Pablo Cesar Cano via early referee stoppage

*The I Call Bullshit* Award:
Goes to Victor Ortiz for his blatant lie when trying to hype this fight. From the beginning, Ortiz stuck to this story that since he "..was nine, I always told myself and my friend that I would hand Floyd Mayweather his first loss." Mr. Ortiz, as the award implies "I Call Bullshit" on that claim, and I'll tell you why. When you were nine-years old Floyd Mayweather was a young, up-and-comer. At this stage in Floyd's career, he was fighting as a featherweight (126 lbs.) which at the time the lower-weight classes got little to no exposure, and he looked far-cry from the phenom he would turn to be. Congratulations Mr. Ortiz, here's to hoping your gameplan is better than your fight hype.