First off, there is no doubt that Floyd Mayweather is the biggest PPV draw in Boxing. But I have to say the personal draw was Erik Morales versus Lucas Matthysse. I am absolutely gutted that these two aren?t squaring off on Saturday night. That being said, Morales quest for a fourth divisional title is still the Main Event for me. And yes, maybe it is a bogus belt. But aren?t they all? I don?t know anything about his opponent, so I won?t make a prediction. I?ll just say War Morales! And move on.
Now let?s talk about the fight that millions will pay to see. While Mayweather?s personality can be off putting and his choice of past opposition has been lacking at times. Anybody questioning his choice of Victor Ortiz has an agenda. This is a bigger, prime Welterweight at the height of his confidence and if he makes this easy it will be because of his superlative skills.
The two things here that are entirely guess work is has Floyd lost anything after another lengthy layoff and at an age where reflexes start to wane? And is Ortiz willing to walk the walk for 12 rounds after talking the tough talk?
Mayweather is one of histories finest defensive fighters and, like Pernell Whitaker, he punches much harder than people give him credit for. I think he will be the hardest puncher that Ortiz has ever faced. People that will counter with Berto or Maidana are a slave to statistics. Floyd is a boxer, not a knockout artist. But that doesn?t mean he can?t punch and with the exception of Castillo, any fighter that has ever pressed him has either backed off or gotten taken out. If his skills have deteriorated even slightly, Ortiz has the ability to capitalize on it.
Ortiz caught a bit of a bum rap in my opinion when it comes to the Maidana fight. Did he behave like Saad Muhammad? No, but if that was a crime, 99.9% of histories boxers would be in jail. His eye was inflating like someone had an air pump attached to it and he bowed out of a violent brawl when he felt he couldn?t go on. That isn?t deserving of the arm chair warriors label of a quitter. As for his words after the fight that riled so many up, I would love to see the footage of an interview immediately following the beating you took from a girl scout when you were nine. He has the speed and power to press Floyd and I think he has proven to have the resolve to hang around when things get hairy.
