Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz: Champ Says He's Blessed Depsite Backlash
Despite the backlash stemming from what some have deemed a sucker punch knockout that helped Floyd Mayweather earn the Welterweight title over Victor Ortiz, the current champion has continued to maintain that he is blessed, and now wants to be known as the best boxer of all time.
In an ESPN interview after his fight on Saturday, Mayweather said he is blessed to be in his position despite the negative opinion some have of him.
"I'm just happy with the victory tonight,” Mayweather said. “I gotta give thanks to the fans for showing me support for 16 years now and I’m truly blessed just to be where I'm at."
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However, many questioned Mayweather’s victory on Saturday night. After Ortiz head-butted Mayweather in the fourth round of the bout, the Mexican-American fighter appeared to be attempting to apologize.
When the referee called for the fighters to return to the center of the ring they touched gloves, however, it then seemed as if Ortiz was continuing with his apology, and had his hands down by his side. Despite the fighter clearly not being ready to fight, Mayweather took the opportunity to knock the fighter out with a two-piece combination and win the fight.
According to ESPN analyst Skip Bayless, the punch was “dirty” and proved to be “cowardly on the part of Floyd.”
Despite the negative feedback he received, Mayweather said he was looking forward to securing his legacy and changing the face of boxing.
Despite the controversial knock-out Mayweather attempted to maintain positivity by thanking God, and he said he would not go on to focus on furthering his career.
“It just adds to my legacy, I'm truly blessed to be a future hall of famer,” Mayweather said, according to ESPN. “I'm just putting the rest pieces to the puzzle so that I can be known as one of the best fighters to ever live."
