According to Boxrec.com, Floyd Mayweather Jr will return to the ring this autumn, fighting in the Cowboys Stadium in September against newly crowned WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz.
So far Ortiz is the only party to comment on the fight, although talking to KUSports admitted that the deal is not yet completely finalized:
?I just need to look at the contract and make sure everything is OK. It?s not 100 percent sure yet, but that?s what I?m setting my sights on.?
Neither Mayweather or Golden Boy have so far confirmed the fight however, and this is far from the first time Mayweather has been reported as on the verge of returning to the ring.
Since his last fight there have been countless rumors of his next opponent, where he will be fighting, and even which promoter and network he will be affiliated with.
At various times rumors have had Mayweather fighting in Dubai, South Africa, Texas and of course Las Vegas.
His promotional allegiance was rumored to have shifted from Golden Boy to Don King, away from and then back to Al Haymon.
And the potential opponents he has at various points been linked with have included names as diverse as Paul Spadafora, Manny Pacquiao and more recently Victor Ortiz.
(Photos) Manny Pacquiao dominates Shane Mosley in Las Vegas
Unlike unconfirmed reports in the past the credibility of the source on this occasion is much more sound, with Boxrec being the sport’s premier online record keeping source.
Of course, they aren’t infallible.
Amir Khan’s proposed July clash with Timothy Bradley for example is still listed despite the fact that it is looking less and less likely by the day and that Khan is looking for alternative opponents.
Boxrec appear to operate on information given to them by promoters however, and as such if Mayweather is listed as fighting Ortiz then the information has at least come from someone directly connected to both fighters. Advertisement
In this case likely someone representing mutual promoter Golden Boy, who have yet to publicly either announce or comment on the fight.
Rumors of Mayweather vs. Ortiz first surfaced during an interview between Examiner’s Chris Robinson and Roger Mayweather, during which he revealed that his nephew had struck a deal with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Puzzlingly Mayweather only days later claimed in an interview with Fighthype that all the rumors surrounding him were false, and mentioned that his fans would be the first to hear about anything genuine happening.
Not strictly true it appears, and until the fight is confirmed by all involved parties there are those who will remain understandably skeptical.
It also appears that Mayweather is confident that his long list of legal problems won’t catch up to him between now and then, which they don’t appear likely to so long as he can keep himself out of trouble.
His July 29th court date is a preliminary evidence hearing and it’s rumored that he and his legal have already reached an agreement of some kind with former girlfriend Josie Harris who he is accused of assaulting.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the fight however, while Ortiz isn’t the opponent most want to see Mayweather facing, he is a step in the right direction.
Ortiz while a little inexperienced compared to Mayweather is neither smaller than him or over the hill as previous opponents Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley were.
Stephen Hillman, Pitt: “Ortiz is a good opponent, I can see Floyd struggling with him if he doesn’t move better than he did against Mosley”
