The Debate Continues Just before the opening bell of every fight, the referee always tells fighters, ?Protect yourself at all times.? But Victor Ortiz forgot that on Saturday night, and allowed himself to get knocked out by Floyd Mayweather in the fourth round. He was busy trying to hug and kiss and apologize to Mayweather after Ortiz deliberately head butted him. This was the biggest fight of Ortiz?s life and he lost focus at the exact moment the momentum seemed to be turning in his favor. Ortiz has a lot of talent and physical ability, but lacks maturity. And for a guy who had prepared for the fight of his life, he didn?t seem particularly devastated when referee Joe Cortez counted him out. It was as if he shrugged the whole thing off. And to me, it looked as if he was slightly relieved. Maybe his head wasn?t clear from the punches he took and maybe he?ll have some different things to say later in the week. But his reaction was not one from a man who has a burning desire to be a true world champion. As was the case when he quit against Marcos Maidana in June of 2009, he demonstrated some mental weaknesses in his game. And if Ortiz?s victory over Andre Berto in April of this year erased the memory of the Maidana fight, I believe that this fight with Mayweather will re-start the debate.
As for Mayweather, the punches he threw after the point deduction may have been a classless move, but when you put everything into perspective, it was justified. He had just been head butted in the mouth. And how did he know that this kid who was out of control was not going to do the same thing again? His blood was up, he had a green light, and he retaliated. If it was illegal, why didn?t Cortez rule it as a foul? And speaking of Cortez, I think he dropped the ball on this one. I?ve never attended a referee clinic. But based on all of the boxing I?ve watched over the years, it seems he should have taken better control of the situation. He should have called time out, walked Mayweather to a neutral corner, deducted the point from Ortiz, and then instructed the two fighters to resume. But he wasn?t even looking at the fighters when Mayweather landed that left hook-right hand combination.
