LAS VEGAS — When Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided to end his long “vacation” that followed his dominant decision against Shane Mosley in May 2010, he could have faced just about anyone he wanted to. Fighters everywhere want a chance to fight him because, when you fight Mayweather — or Manny Pacquiao — you make your biggest payday.
So what made Mayweather decide to pick Victor Ortiz, whom he will face on Saturday (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET, $59.95) at the MGM Grand?
It sure wasn’t because Mayweather had any serious interest in Ortiz’s welterweight belt. Mayweather has won a bunch of titles and has said many times he doesn’t care about them anymore.
Let’s go back to April, when Mayweather surprisingly attended Ortiz’s fight against Andre Berto at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Conn., where Ortiz won an all-out slugfest in a fight of the year candidate in which both men were knocked down twice.
Mayweather claims he just wanted to go to the fight and wasn’t there on a scouting mission.
“No, I wasn’t scouting. I was going there just to watch,” Mayweather insisted. “I wasn’t scouting an opponent. I was going there just as a spectator, just to watch the fight.”
I’m not sure I totally believe that, because Mayweather doesn’t typically attend fights he isn’t involved with in some way — especially fights on the other side of the country from where he lives.
