By Peter Wells: Photo credit: Sumio Yamada – 16 months ago the world was watching the return of the most talked about fighter of this modern era. The result though was not the talking point; instead it was the question that still has no answer – When will Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao happen.

Now on this very day that man, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, returns again but not against the fighter we all want to see him fight. Instead Floyd is fighting the next best thing to Pacquiao, and that is the young, talented, “Vicious” Victor Ortiz. And if you haven’t been listening to Victor tell us repeatedly, he is the World Boxing Council (WBC) champion.

The weigh-in last night was feisty and clearly added to the hype – as if it needed anymore hype anyway. Victor has made it very clear to the press and Mayweather himself that he is no warm up for Manny Pacquiao, and I for one certainly agree. Ortiz has proved us all wrong once already this year and he certainly has a big chance at doing that again.

The main talking point for Ortiz is the ultimate question. How do you beat Floyd Mayweather? The problem for Ortiz is he must go out and find out for himself, as he did successfully last time out against the previously unbeaten Andre Berto. He needs to try and mix things up, and do things that Mayweather hasn’t seen before.

Oscar De La Hoya says he knows how to beat Mayweather, but i distinctly remember him telling Ricky Hatton the same thing, and it didn’t work, so maybe Oscar isn’t the man Ortiz should be listening to. Ortiz though has a confidence about him that makes one think that he has a few tricks up his sleeve, but compare that to Mayweather’s unbreakable confidence and swagger and there’s only one winner in that department.

Now let’s look back to Mayweather’s last fight where in round 2 Shane Mosley caught Mayweather flush causing him to stagger to stay on his feet before recovering easily. If Ortiz is to catch Mayweather like that then surely the younger fighter will go for the kill unlike the older Mosley. Mayweather will surely be more aware of this and will make it harder for Ortiz to land those big bombs he lands so sweetly.

Ortiz can be wild and one has a feeling that unless he lands regularly with his jab then Mayweather will tag the on-rushing Ortiz all night long and it’ll be a question of how Mayweather wins. So using the jab to good effect could be the key factor for Ortiz tonight.

As for Mayweather aging, I can guarantee he’ll still be as fresh as ever. The man is clearly rarely out of the gym, much like the non-aging Bernard Hopkins. Mayweather is a smart boxer and will use his age as an advantage not a disadvantage.

So that brings me to my final conclusion. I envision Ortiz showing his superior strength early and will probably take the early rounds. But once Mayweather has adapted he’ll start to read what Ortiz is doing and regularly counter Ortiz after he throws his right or left hooks. If Ortiz starts to get desperate and spares Mayweather the task of avoiding his hard jab then Mayweather could close the show before the final bell. I believe that Ortiz will stick to his jab, as his trainer Danny Garcia will tell him between rounds, and manage to keep the excitement up till the end. Mayweather should have his hand raised at the end but may remember this fight as his hardest of his career so far.