By Jason Kim: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KO’s) not only has to beat WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KO’s) on September 17th, he’s got to put on a clinic and make the younger 24-year-old Ortiz look way out of his element. Mayweather can’t be seen to struggle in there with Ortiz if he wants to generate excitement for a Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather vs. Amir Khan.

Mayweather has set such a high standard that boxing fans naturally expect him to not only win but to win in dominating fashion. Ortiz has got a lot of power and is very good at forcing his opponents to trade with him. In other words, it’s difficult to outbox Ortiz when he’s all over you trying to rip your head off with every shot.

One fighter that did succeed at out-boxing Ortiz was Lamont Peterson, who seemed to get Ortiz’s respect after being knocked down a couple of times in the 3rd. By boxing and throwing hard shots, Peterson was able to keep Ortiz on the outside and dominate the second half of the fight. Berto had poor luck in duplicating the same efforts in his fight against Ortiz because he didn’t stick to his jab and was looking to throw power shots instead of looking to box.

Mayweather isn’t fool enough to try and go to war with a younger slugger like Ortiz. That goes against Mayweather’s cautious nature. Mayweather is smart enough to know that if he gets in the gutter with Ortiz, he’s just going to get dirty and he could end up losing the fight. Mayweather can’t impress if he’s trading with Ortiz and fighting his fight. Mayweather can’t do that. He’s got to fight his own style and hope that Ortiz can’t figure him out.