Ortiz still clamoring for rematch with Mayweather

By Boxing News - 10/02/2011 - Comments

Image: Ortiz still clamoring for rematch with MayweatherBy John F. McKenna (McJack): Two weeks after his unsuccessful title defense against new World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., ( 42-0, 26 KO’s) former champ Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) is still clamoring for a rematch.

Ortiz now concedes that the two punch combination “Money” hit him with was legal, but contends it was a “cheap shot” and unsportsmanlike. But in reality it was “Vicious” who landed the first “cheap shot” when he came in like a human torpedo and head butted Floyd. The flagrant head butt resulted in Mayweather’s lip being cut which resulted in a trip to the hospital for Floyd. And it was not the first head butt of the night for Ortiz, but it was the straw that broke the camels back for Mayweather.

One of the qualities, which makes Mayweather successful as a fighter is his coolness under pressure. He exhibited that quality in spades when he fought Zab Judah a few years ago and a brawl erupted in the ring between the handlers of both fighters. Judah gleefully jumped into the middle of it. Mayweather instead of joining in the fray calmly retreated to a corner of the ring waiting for the melee to subside.

Against Ortiz, Floyd again remained calm even though he had just been flagrantly fouled by Victor’s head butt. It is understandable that Mayweather would be just a tad bit angry after the blatant and painful foul. But Mayweather, just as in the Judah fight years before exhibited no emotion despite Victor’s theatrical apologies and the kiss on the cheek.

When time was called in by seasoned referee Joe Cortez, Mayweather did what he has been trained to do all of his life. He reacted instinctively and knocked Ortiz out. The question that needs to be asked of Ortiz is who did he think he was fighting?
Floyd is not known for giving any slack in the ring. He did what you would expect Floyd Mayweather Jr. to do in such a situation. He took care of business.

Of course the ending to the fight was controversial and not what boxing fans had hoped for. Floyd has been criticized and will continue to be criticized for the manner in which he ended the fight. But let’s be honest. Floyd has cultivated his “Bad Boy” image to such perfection that whatever he does, fans will hate him for it. That is a given.

Victor Ortiz after his performance against Mayweather does not really deserve a rematch. He was in the process of having another meltdown. By the fourth round Ortiz knew that there was no way he could defeat Mayweather. He was being totally outclassed and frustration was setting in big time. In my view he was looking for a way out, hence the outrageous head butt.

It is nothing new for a fighter who puts in a sub par performance to immediately ask for a rematch. David Haye asked for a rematch with Vladimir Klitschko after his dismal performance in July.

It is not often that you hear comments like those uttered by Tomasz Adamek uttered after his losing effort against Vitali Klitschko. Adamek had no excuses. He said that he lost to Vitali simply because he was too good and that even if Klitschko was five inches shorter he still would have been too good.

If there is anyone for boxing fans to be angry at after the less than spectacular effort put forth by Victor Ortiz, it should be Ortiz himself. With his flagrant foul against Mayweather he is the one who precipitated the events that followed.



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