Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Mayweather didn?t do himself any favors by the stopping Victor Ortiz the way he did on Saturday night in Las Vegas. He was in the process of breaking down a vastly inferior boxer when he ended the fight with a big right after Ortiz let his guard down. The knockout was legitimate. Ortiz failed to follow one of the most-basic rules in boxing — protect yourself at all times ? and paid a stiff price. The crazy ending obscured Mayweather?s performance, though. We should be talking about how the most-gifted fighter on the planet looked as sharp as ever even after a 16-month layoff, the beautiful rights he landed consistently and Ortiz?s inability to penetrate Mayweather?s legendary defense. Instead, we?re talking about how stupid Ortiz was and whether Mayweather was right or wrong to punch him when he wasn?t prepared to fight. Still, ?Money? had a good night. He walked away with a knockout and the WBC welterweight belt and is in prime position for bigger things in the near future. BIGGEST LOSER
Victor Ortiz: A one-sided loss ? even a knockout loss ? would?ve been OK. Ortiz could?ve said afterward, ?Hey, I tried as hard as I could. I just wasn?t good enough to beat him tonight. I?m a young guy. I?ll be back.? No one would?ve held it against him. Instead, a poor performance combined with his wacky behavior leave him in a bad light once again. The fact he jumped into Mayweather with his head in the heat of battle ? basically cracking under pressure ? leads us to wonder once again about his mental toughness. Professionals keep their heads. He made it worse by being overly apologetic, embracing Mayweather and then kissing him on the cheek. And then, in the coup de grace, he spaced out and was knocked out. What a disaster! Ortiz is fortunate he has a strong promotional company (Golden Boy) behind him. He?ll get more chances. The question is: Which Ortiz will show up, the one who beat Berto or the one who flipped out against Mayweather?
