LOS ANGELES ? World Boxing Council welterweight champion Victor Ortiz had finally heard enough.
It was at the Los Angeles press conference announcing his mega match against undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., when Ortiz reached his boiling point. After staying quiet and letting Mayweather do all the talking the previous day in New York, Ortiz wasn?t having it this time especially around the pro-Mexican crowd chanting his name at LA Live on Wednesday, June 29.
From the moment Mayweather got on stage, Ortiz confronted the undefeated boxer, stared him down, and poked him in his chest before the two teams pulled them back from each other.
Ortiz wasn?t happy. The reason: he feels disrespected because of all the Manny Pacquiao talk.
?I?m tired of it,? said Ortiz, the WBC champion, who recently beat undefeated Andre Berto a few months ago. ?I do feel like I?m being disrespected. Everyone keeps talking about Pacquiao. Mayweather keeps saying he?s going to fight Pacquiao next. No. He?s fighting me next. Me, not Pacquiao? And I?ll be damned if I let him or anyone take this belt away from me.?
Pacquiao was nowhere near New York or Los Angeles but his presence was surely felt all throughout the two-day, coast-to-coast Ortiz-Mayweather promotions. Ortiz (29-2-2 22 KOs) and Mayweather (41-0 25 KOs) are set to meet on September 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
From the fans chanting ?Pacquiao! Pacquiao!? when Mayweather was walking down the red carpet to the media asking questions surrounding the Filipino champion and even Mayweather himself addressing the issue, the hot topic was Manny Pacquiao.
With Mayweather facing Ortiz in September and Pacquiao set to fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in November, many boxing pundits and fans expect these bouts as an unofficial boxing playoff of sort – semi-final matches ? with the expected winners (Mayweather and Pacquiao, respectively) to finally meet in boxing?s super bowl sometime next year.
Mayweather said it himself. When asked why he chose Ortiz first before Pacquiao, Mayweather answered, ?As a smart fighter, I just can?t take over a year and a half off and not get a tune-up bout. I deserve to at least get a tune-up bout.?
?We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and Manny Pacquiao, yes, you?re next,? added Mayweather.
Lawsuits
Mayweather is facing a rash of lawsuits from battery allegations against his wife and security guards, his bodyguards assaulting a fan in a casino parking lot, and a defamation suit filed by Pacquiao.
Mayweather said despite all of the distractions surrounding him, he?ll remain focused against Ortiz.
?That?s not my job. That?s why I chose the best legal team,? said Mayweather. ?The job is for my legal team to handle things inside the courtroom, and my job is to handle business once I get inside the ring.?
The Mayweather Paradox
?I?m damned if I do, I?m damned if I don?t,? Mayweather said about the daily criticisms he receives about choosing opponents.
?When I fight a guy over 30, they ? you guys (pointing to the media around him) ? say he?s over the hill. Now, when I fight someone who is 24-years-old, you say he?s not experienced enough.?
?I don?t get it,? said Mayweather. ?But when Pacquiao defeats my leftovers, you guys praise him. All he?s fought are Floyd Mayweather?s leftovers. When he beat Cotto, he wasn?t at the top of his game. He was already beaten up from a guy who had to put a cast in his hand (Antonio Margarito). Pacquiao beat a drained Oscar De La Hoya. I respect Pacquiao for fighting my leftovers.?
Mayweather explained that he?s wanted to fight Pacquiao since last year. He said he?s remain committed to ?cleaning up the sport of boxing? and ?taking a stand? against performance enhancing drugs. He said he never accused Pacquiao of taking steroids or other performance enhancers.
Mayweather said he?s not at fault as to why contract negotiations with Pacquiao have failed. He said all he?s wanted Pacquiao to do is take random blood and urine testing, something he will ask again if the two were to sit down about a possible match.
?I spoke to Sugar Shane Mosley,? said Mayweather. ?And he told me, he regrets not asking Pacquiao to take a drug test. He said, ?if I were you, I?d make him take the test.??
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend July 2-5, 2011 Sec A pg. 16)
