Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be one of the greatest fighters of all time, but he'll never be mistaken for a classy boxer after knocking out Victor Ortiz with a pair of bout-ending cheap shots Saturday night.
What was otherwise an entertaining, back-and-forth affair came to a swift and strange end in the fourth round. Ortiz had regained momentum in the fight, pounding "Money" against the ropes, before he went in for an ill-advised head butt. Referee Joe Cortez immediately separated the two fighters and administered a deduction to Ortiz while "Vicious" Victor went to apologize to his challenger.
Shortly thereafter, the two combatants met in the middle of the ring to hug it out, with Mayweather waiting nary a moment to land a devastating one-two, left-right combo to send Ortiz straight to the mat.
All while Cortez was looking away, before the referee had given any clear indication that the fight was back on.
By a strict interpretation of the rule, Mayweather's haymakers were legal, as the onus was technically on Ortiz to be ready to go at all times. That being said, one look at the tape will show that "Money" May was in the wrong, if not by the rule book then at least in the eyes of the box populi.
Either way, Mayweather leaves the MGM Grand Garden Arena to head back to his Las Vegas mansion with the WBC Welterweight Championship belt slung over his shoulder and his undefeated record in tact at 42-0.
Whether that will be enough to finally get "Pretty Boy" Floyd in the ring with Manny Pacquiao remains to be seen. Saturday's fight did little, if anything, to stem the never-ending tide of talk that the two will/won't/should come to blows sooner rather than later.
For now, though, Mayweather can enjoy his victory only with the smugness and cockiness that led him to set aside sportsmanship for a sucker punch and an easy "W".
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