By John F. McKenna (McJack): New World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KO’s) has received a ton of criticism since his controversial 4th round KO win over Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) last Saturday night at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
By now almost everyone concedes that the combination which KO’d Ortiz was legal. Seasoned referee Joe Cortez who has officiated numerous title fights, had given the go ahead to continue after deducting a point from Victor for a flagrant head butt. The head butt opened a cut on Floyd’s mouth and required treatment at a local hospital.
Still, while conceding that what Mayweather did was legal his detractors refuse to let it go and accuse him of taking a cheap shot at Ortiz. The fact that Floyd is not the most likeable guy in the world should have no bearing on his ring performance. He needs to be judged solely on what he does in the squared circle.
Victor’s head butt was as flagrant a head butt as you will ever want to see. And it was not the first time Ortiz had used his head in the fight. Immediately after the butt Mayweather turned to his left to complain to the referee. At that point “Vicious” followed up with a left hand.
Making nice after such a flagrant violation as Victor tried to do with his hugs and the kiss on Floyd’s cheek does not cut it. A fighter who has been at it for fifteen years as Mayweather has is trained to react instinctively. You can’t turn it on and off as any professional fighter can attest to.
When looking back into boxing history you can always find a precedent. Borrowing from Ecclesiastes, what happens now has happened before. There is nothing new under the sun.
On July 21, 1927 the legendary former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey was fighting future champ Jack Sharkey. Dempsey had lost his title by decision to Gene Tunney in 1926 after three years of inactivity. The Dempsey – Sharkey fight was to determine who got the next title shot at Tunney. Dempsey was behind on points going into the 7th round. Sharkey turned to complain to the referee that Dempsey had hit him low. Dempsey seeing the opening uncorked a fight ending left hook and Sharkey was counted out.
By that point in his career Jack Dempsey was lionized by both boxing fans and the press and his popularity did not suffer. His legions of fans defended Dempsey by saying what Mayweather fans are saying today, the punch he landed was legal and you have to protect yourself at all times.
It should be pointed out that Victor Ortiz has fouled in the past and in fact been disqualified for it.
One of the more memorable quotes in boxing history was Dempsey’s response when questioned by a reporter about the incident in the Sharkey fight. Dempsey said:
“What was I supposed to do? Mail him a letter?”
In retrospect Jack Dempsey was an extremely popular fighter who was loved by the media and boxing fans. Floyd Mayweather Jr. on the other hand is under constant attack by the press and fans alike. That difference may be the chief reason Floyd is judged on a vastly different scale than Dempsey was.
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