MAYWEATHER WINS BUT IS ROUNDLY BOOED FOR UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Sep 2011
Floyd Mayweather Jr. won his mega fight against Victor ?Vicious? Ortiz at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday but was roundly booed for his unsportsmanlike conduct including his use of an expletive during a testy post fight interview by the venerable 80 year old Larry Merchant.
Mayweather looked too fast and too smart for Ortiz, ten years younger and far less experienced and it showed in the first two rounds.
But Ortiz, taking the fight to the slick Mayweather sought to bully his opponent and began to rattle Mayweather in the third round with a few solid blows.
Ortiz kept the pressure on in round four and trapped Mayweather against the ropes where he pounded him before Ortiz apparently peeved at Mayweather?s tactics lunged forward with his head and cut Mayweather in the mouth.
Referee Joe Cortez immediately stopped the action and slapped Ortiz with a one point deduction, prompting the 24 year old to apologize and plant a kiss on Mayweather?s cheek in contrition.
A still smiling Ortiz continued to apologize even when Cortez brought both fighters to the center of the ring and looked away to instruct the timekeeper that action would resume. But as Ortiz looked at the referee for him to order action to continue, Mayweather stepped forward and caught the champion with a big left hand right in the mouth and as he staggered backward both hurt and surprised, Mayweather delivered a huge right that dropped Ortiz on the canvas where he was counted out by referee Cortez.
TV replays on ABC 5 and Solar Sports which telecast the fights clearly showed referee Cortez didn?t even see Mayweather throw the two punches as the fans began to boo lustily.
When Merchant sought to pin Mayweather down on his unsportsmanlike conduct the fighter flared up, showed no respect towards the veteran HBO commentator and used foul language even as he accused Merchant of ignorance of the sport.
Pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao who followed the fight on television told the Daily Inquirer ?what Mayweather did was legal but it's not the action of a sportsman. He just took advantage of that moment. I think Ortiz was trying to be nice to Mayweather.?
Pacquiao said Mayweather ?is still good but I think in the third and fourth round when Ortiz attacked Mayweather got rattled. If Ortiz didn?t get knocked out and the fight continued through seven or eight rounds Mayweather would have been in trouble.?
Asked whether he would like to fight Mayweather after what he witnessed, Pacquiao said ?oh yes? but pointed out that his attention is now focused on his November 12 showdown with Marquez.
Pacquiao was visibly upset over the manner in which Mayweather treated Merchant stating ?you saw how nasty and mean he was.?
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Mayweather was ?a big disgrace while Joe Cortez shouldn?t be refereeing any more.? Cortez said afterward, "Time was in. The fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal."
For his part Mayweather, the new WBC super welterweight champion who upped his winning streak to 42 with no loss and 26 knockouts, fell back on the usual referee?s pre-fight instructions to the fighters ?to protect yourself at all times" while Ortiz countered, "I obeyed [the ref] as I was told. Then, boom, he clocked me."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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