Am I the only one disturbed by what happened to Victor Ortiz on Saturday? Am I the only one who felt a little embarrassed for the sport after witnessing the ending? Am I the only one who thinks the line of defense used to justify Floyd Mayweather?s actions, that Ortiz should have protected himself at all times, is absurd? Does it really matter what I think? Not in the grand scheme of things, but let me say this: I started the day as a Mayweather fan, a not-so-secret admirer, and walked away shaking my head after the card, wondering if I would ever watch the guy fight again.
For someone who values the importance of sportsmanship, whose favorite part of the fight (or one of his favorite parts) is when two fighters embrace in a show of mutual respect after the fight, Saturday?s ending was a little nauseating. After Ortiz was deducted a point for a head butt in the fourth round, he tried to embrace Mayweather as if requesting forgiveness. When he pulled back from the hug, Mayweather quickly unloaded on him while Ortiz’s hands were down, dropping him for the count.
I kept asking myself if some of the great fighters of the sport, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard- if they would have ended a fight that way, hitting an opponent while his hands were down after touching gloves or hugging it out. I kept thinking they wouldn?t. Manny Pacquiao? Definitely not. I thought, maybe I?m being a little na?ve here, that maybe I was looking at it from the wrong angle. I phoned Evander Holyfield on a Sunday night. Who better than Evander to weigh-in on a rough-and-tumble fight? (Besides, in what other sport can you just phone an all-time great on a whim and ask him questions?)
The ?Real Deal,? said he wasn?t surprised that Floyd retaliated like he did after he was butted. Holyfield was of course looking at the fight from the perspective of a fighter who has been fouled repeatedly, as Mayweather was against Ortiz. (Ortiz tried to butt Mayweather a number of times whenever he got him in a corner.)
?Of course you?re dealing with someone who naturally is going to get you back,? Holyfield said in his southern drawl, speaking of Mayweather. ?And there is no doubt in my mind that he would get him back, and of course he waited for the perfect time to do it. And what happened is, he took advantage of the things that had been said, you know, you have to hold your hands up all the time.?
Holyfield thinks Joe Cortez, the referee on Saturday, should have given Ortiz five minutes to rest after he was decked by Mayweather because he obviously wasn?t ready for the onslaught that put him down at 2:59 of the fourth round.
As for whether Holyfield would have reacted the same way that Mayweather had, attacking Ortiz when he wasn?t ready, Holyfield said, ?No,? though he can understand why Mayweather did.
?Me personally, I wouldn?t because that?s just not me,? said Holyfield, who is in discussions for a title bout with WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin, perhaps for Dec. 17. ?But it?s hard to say if that happens,? Holyfield went on. ?If someone fouled you on purpose first, every person that I know who is tough already has an attitude already, [so anything can happen].?
Holyfield drew from his own history, speaking of a bout in 1989 with Michael Dokes. He said that Dokes kept hitting him low, without getting a point deducted. Eventually, Holyfield took matters into his own hands.
?The referee kept saying he was going to take a point away, but he never did,? Holyfield said. ?The next time he did it, I didn?t wait for the referee. I hit him [low] on purpose. He went down and then I stood over him and started talking to him. This is the kind of stuff that happens.?
Holyfield?s point is that stuff, sometimes sordid stuff, happens in boxing. Sometimes if a fighter fouls another fighter hard enough, it may cause the other fighter to foul back in
