Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz: A Recap of That Sucker Punch Ahead of HBO Replay
The controversial fight between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz is still generating debate following Mayweather’s sucker punch knockout of his opponent.
Floyd Mayweather knocked out Victor Ortiz in the fourth round of their welterweight title fight Saturday, after Victor Ortiz tried to apologize to him for a head-butt.
The fight, in which Mayweather emerged victorious, will be re-shown on HBO on Saturday for those who missed it.
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Looking back the fight, Mayweather appeared to be winning the bout two rounds to one after the three completed rounds.
In the round one, many boxing experts gave the slight edge to Mayweather, although it was almost too close to call. Both Mayweather and Ortiz were feeling out each other with their jabs. But Mayweather landed a decent jab and a right while Ortiz charged in with a left, which didn`t do much damage.
In the beginning of round two Ortiz began to lead the fight, moving well and was able to land some punches that may have hurt Mayweather, in particular with the left. But Mayweather landed an effective right and was favored in the compubox numbers.
The third round saw Mayweather use his jab effectively and he also hit Ortiz with two lefts in a row at the beginning of the round. A solid right by Mayweather may have hurt Ortiz. Walking into punches, Ortiz was trying to find openings as Mayweather was effectively defending himself.
Finally the controversial round came. A major combo by Mayweather seemed to have hurt Ortiz, who then retaliated by throwing out a barrage of punches that put Mayweather on the ropes. The punches didn`t seem to do much damage, but Ortiz didn`t give up and landed a double combo.
Then, the fight took an ugly turn when Ortiz pulled back and lunged forward into Mayweather with his head. Immediately, Ortiz tried to apologize to him by hugging and even kissing Mayweather on the check. But it seemed that Mayweather was not pleased and referee Cortez deducted a point from Ortiz.
Cortez brought the fighters back together and they touched gloves. With Cortez looking away from the fighters, Victor Ortiz didn`t lift his hands to begin fighting again, but Mayweather immediately unloaded a left hook and a flush right hand to Ortiz`s face. Ortiz tried to get up at 7 and couldn`t find his feet following the two unexpected hits that landed completely undefended.
"Time was in," Cortez said according to ESPN. "The fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal."
After the end of the fight Mayweather was questioned about what had happened by HBO`s Larry Merchant.
"He did something dirty," Mayweather said. "His corner said I was dirty, and he did something dirty. All along, his corner was saying I was dirty, but I won the fight."
HBO will replay the fight next Saturday, September 24, at 9:45 ET/PT. There are still rumors that Ortiz is likely to get a rematch, particularly following the controversy surrounding his knockout, and the condemnation Mayweather is receiving for it worldwide.
