Bad Boy Floyd? Mayweather Controversially Crushes Ortiz In The 4th Round

The number one rule in boxing is what kids? Defend yourself at all times, no matter what. Floyd Mayweather proved that rule still holds true as he crushed Victor Ortiz with a controversial two-punch combination in the midst of an Ortiz apology for an intentional head butt that obliterated him in the fourth round of their hyped up clash. The victory earned the undefeated fighter the WBC welterweight crown, but that was merely a sidebar to what took place on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The 34-year-old Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in 16 months and questions hovered as to whether or not he would be as sharp as he had been in previous fights. The 24-year-old Ortiz was fresh off of an impressive unanimous decision victory in a candidate for fight of the year against Andre Berto in which he claimed the WBC title. Despite the age difference, Mayweather’s boxing pedigree was far superior to that of Ortiz.

Ortiz (29-3-2) was terribly outclassed from the outset as Mayweather punished him with lead rights and stood toe to toe with the Mexican-American; which was what Mayweather had promised since the fight was announced several months back. Try as he might, Ortiz simply couldn’t catch Mayweather clean with anything. The frustration in Ortiz mounted up as Mayweather turned up the heat in the second and third rounds as he picked off Ortiz’ advances and smashed the young fighter straight right hands and left hooks. It certainly wasn’t the game plan that his trainer Danny Garcia drew up as Ortiz looked somewhat overwhelmed at time and tried to rush Mayweather when all else failed.

The frustration peaked in the fourth round.

With Mayweather landing at will, Ortiz finally mounted up some offense that backed Mayweather to the ropes. Perhaps the anger got to him as Ortiz launched his head directly into Mayweather’s face. Ortiz immediately saw the error in his ways and offered a hug followed by a bizarre kiss on the cheek. Referee Joe Cortez immediately docked a point from Ortiz and all seemed well for the time being

But Mayweather wasn’t over it, not by a long shot.

As Cortez brought the two fighters together to put the issue behind them, Ortiz and Mayweather touched gloves as Ortiz attempted to hug Mayweather again. However, as soon as they broke apart, the five-division champion broke Ortiz down with a left hook, straight right hand combination that dropped Ortiz to the canvas like a sack of bricks. Caught completely off guard by the punches, Ortiz had no chance of getting to his feet and was counted out at the 2:59 mark in the 4^th round.

The end was met with a ton of controversy as some in the media thought Mayweather was dirty while others felt Ortiz deserved it for his actions and should have defended himself. Either way, the image of “Bad Boy Floyd” has been taken to new heights. “We touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left and right hand after the break,” Mayweather said afterwards. “In the ring you have to protect yourself at all times.”

Referee Joe Cortez echoed Mayweather’s sentiments while explaining that the newly crowned WBC welterweight champion did nothing wrong. “Time was in, the fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal,” Cortez said.

But despite the controversy, it was evident that Mayweather had not lost a step since severely outclassing Shane Mosley back in May of 2010. This fight was no different as Mayweather was sharp and tactful while keeping Ortiz from landing any major power shots.

With Mayweather making good on his knockout promise and banking what will likely be close to $30 million when the PPV revenue checks top off his $25 million purse, the talks about Pacquiao will most certainly heat up again. The Filipino will face Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time in November. Should that fight go Pacquiao’s way, it is possible that the two athletes could clash as early as May 2012.

Let the countdown begin…again.