Floyd Mayweather Jr. has once again captured the attention of the boxing world as people are buzzing about his recently-announced September 17th showdown with WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz. While people are split as to whether Ortiz is serving as an eventual springboard to a dream fight with Manny Pacquiao for Mayweather or whether he is simply craving the limelight again, it is simply good to see Floyd Jr. back again.
The 24-year old Ortiz is coming off of a career-high win over Andre Berto this past April, a victory that saw him rise off of the canvas twice while outhustling and outfighting the Haitian-American. It was an impressive showing from Ortiz, yet surprisingly the Oxnard-based fighter has come out of the gates as an 8-1 underdog to the undefeated Mayweather.
One man who certainly isn’t overlooking Ortiz is Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, who oversee the young fighter.
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“When you have that kind of track record inside and outside of the ring like Victor Ortiz does, then I think anyone who knows anything about, not just boxing, but life, they would be well-advised not to underestimate Victor Ortiz and not to underestimate his chances in this fight,” Schaefer recently stated in a piece by BoxingScene’s Robert Morales.
It figures to be another pay-per-view bonanza for Mayweather but at the moment the venue for the fight has yet to be finalized. In speaking with Floyd’s Uncle and trainer Roger a few months back he informed me that his nephew’s ties to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would lead him to Texas but lately it seems more likely that Nevada will land the event.
“I’m trying to finalize the MGM Grand,” Schaefer would add.
Shouldn’t be surprising at all, seeing as Mayweather’s last four fights, victories over Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, and Oscar De La Hoya, all landed at the MGM Grand. Looks like Ortiz may have to head into enemy territory in his pursuit of the upset.
