Poetic Justice As Mayweather Knocks Out Ortiz

Victor Ortiz leapt off his feet and tried to knock Mayweather out in that 4th round; not with his fist but with his head.

[Black Star Sports]

ESPN’s Dan Rafael said at 1:13 AM this morning the same exact words I had posted on my Facebook page 57 minutes earlier: Victor Ortiz got what he deserved.

Floyd Mayweather knocked out Ortiz at the 2:59 minute mark in the 4th round of their WBC welterweight championship bout in Las Vegas this morning.

Mayweather, who is 35, and remains undefeated, wrested the belt from Ortiz, 24.

I’m glad ESPN’s Dan Rafael watched the same fight that I did.

Victor Ortiz actually leapt off his feet and tried to knock Mayweather out in that 4th round; not with his fist but with his head. It was one of the dirtiest displays in the boxing ring since Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their heavyweight bout years ago.

In both cases, they were acts of desperation and panic by each boxer. Tyson was being bested by Holyfield and he knew –as Ortiz did this morning– that he would eventually get knocked out. Referee Joe Cortez could have stopped the fight and disqualified Ortiz for his blatantly malicious foul. Instead, Cortez deducted a point, and allowed the fight to continue.

As soon as Mayweather finished acknowledging Ortiz’s perfunctory apology, the two fighters separated, whereupon Mayweather stepped forward and clipped Ortiz with a quick left cross on the right side of his jaw. Still, Ortiz had time to react defensively, or offensively. Instead, he turned with a plaintive look towards referee Cortez, who, at that precise moment, had turned his eyes away from the two fighters.

Mayweather, ever the opportunist and still angered by the malicious head butt, followed with a right cross squarely on the right side of Ortiz’s jaw. He had no chance. Ortiz fell flat on his back. The best he could do was struggle to get on all fours.

In all honesty, it seemed as if Ortiz wanted to throw the fight. When he launched his head butt, intentionally trying to harm Mayweather, he was conceding that he could not win the fight cleanly. Mayweather was too sharp this morning. His straight right hand punch was beginning to land too frequently. Ortiz’s puffed face provided evidence.

Just before being knocked out, Ortiz had the same blank look in his eyes that he had when Marco Maidana knocked him down and hurt him badly in their fight. In that fight, Ortiz simply shook his head and waved off the fight and stopped fighting.

So it was this morning. Ortiz wanted it all to end.

Ortiz, who had tried to win by cheating with his head, later claimed there was a “miscommunication” when referee Cortez turned away briefly.

Mayweather said of Ortiz: “He did something dirty but we are not here to complain about what he did dirty or I did dirty.”

Ortiz reportedly earned a guaranteed $2 million, which translates to $500,000 per three-minute round; Mayweather stands to make up to $40 million, or $10 million per round, through a complex revenue formula he negotiated.

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