Size. You would think, with Mayweather having spent every year since 2005 at welterweight and once, above it, that he would be the “bigger” of the two, what with Ortiz having a mere solitary fight at 147. I say unto you: Non, monsieur. By measurement, they are very similar in two key aspects of a fighter’s dimensions: Floyd is 5’8″ to Ortiz’ 5’9″, Floyd has a 72″ reach to Ortiz’ 70″. At the lower weights, those dimensions were assets for Mayweather; you don’t encounter many junior lightweights with arms that long. But at welter, he is a good, solidly-sized ’47 pounder, is Mayweather, but he’s probably a touch over his ideal fighting weight. Ortiz? We learned in his most recent contest that he was probably no junior welterweight, after all.
Ortiz bullied around Andre Berto, himself a solid welter but not one who is particularly big for the division — a welter who could conceivably shrink to 140 if he tried hard enough. But really. Ortiz bullied him, physically. Ortiz’ back is broad. He is a balled up coil of muscle. He’s kind of got one of those Miguel Cotto mini-tank physiques, Cotto being someone who’s not big for a welterweight but whose stocky, sturdy build makes him “bigger” than he looks. That’s good news for Ortiz, naturally. Yeah, Mayweather is terrific at judging, and preserving, distance with his long arms. But Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley — both of whom are bigger still than Ortiz, but also are examples of two rare cases where Mayweather opponents physically bigger than him — had luck in part because of their superior size and strength. The stocky, powerfully built Jose Luis Castillo also came closer than anyone to beating Mayweather. Ortiz’ size advantage translates potentially into other good things for him, too, as we’ll get to momentarily. Ortiz, it goes without saying, needs every advantage he can get. Edge: Ortiz
Speed. Let’s cut directly to the chase. One of Ortiz’ best hopes for beating Mayweather is an assumption, and not an unrealistic one, that the speed Mayweather has at age 35 — a key aspect of what makes him such a special fighter — is decayed plutonium. Looking back over Mayweather’s career, I’m not as convinced as I once was that his speed was/is of the ultra-elite variety. Oh, it’s been good all right, even elite. But Zab Judah was faster, early on. And even a very, very old Shane Mosley in the 2nd round — Mayweather’s most recent fight, in May of 2010 — looked to be similar to him in speed. It is conventional wisdom that a “speed” fighter suffers at an advanced age and with long layoffs, both of which Mayweather is in the midst of. And Ortiz isn’t slow. Scanning the division’s Ring Magazine top 10, Ortiz not as fast as Manny Pacquiao, plus he was maybe a hair slower than Berto, and that’s about it outside of a comparison to Mayweather.
