Excerpt and commentary from Saturday night fight floyd Mayweather and Ortiz

As stated on Fight Network.com Controversial End to Mayweather and Ortiz fight.

It was Joe Cortez’s inept handling of the fight that readily provided the bizarre opportunity for Mayweather to KO a defenseless Ortiz. Mind you, Ortiz was defenseless by his own choosing, committing an amateur mistake against an all-time great. Mayweather, needless to say, took full advantage of the opportunity created by Joe Cortez’s mishandling of the fighters, as was his right under the rules and regulations of the sport of boxing. Perhaps a better question to add here is why shouldn’t Mayweather have used the opportunity presented to him by Cortez’s glaring error? Ortiz must shoulder the responsibility for his own knockout. He is a veteran prizefighter. He knows that the first rule of boxing is, “to protect yourself at all times.” Ortiz ignored at his own peril the words “protect” and “all times’ from the above mentioned adage, which led directly to his immediate destruction. What should Mayweather have done? Write a letter to Ortiz asking for permission to punch him?

The ugly and disappointing outcome to the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight is eerily reminiscent of a fight that took place 84 years ago between heavyweights Jack Dempsey and Jack Sharkey. During the 7th round, Dempsey hit Sharkey with a low blow. On his own accord, Sharkey dropped his hands and complained to the referee about Dempsey hitting him low. However, the ref had not stopped the fight, so Dempsey threw a left hook, which landed squarely on the point of Sharkey’s chin, knocking him cold before he hit the canvas. After the fight, when questioned about his actions, Dempsey said, “What was I supposed to do?, send him an engraved invitation to fight? This is boxing. You are supposed to protect yourself at all times!”

Midway through the 4th round, Ortiz had Mayweather pinned against the ropes in Floyd’s corner but he was unable to land any significant punches. Ortiz was throwing hard shots but very few were landing as Mayweather was once again employing his magnificent defensive technique, the shoulder roll, which he has mastered and turned into an art form.

Victor Ortiz grew visibly frustrated with his inability to land any power punches on Floyd. Boxing is the sport of controlled fury. Victor Ortiz was unable to control his anger and frustration in the 4th round and, as a result, he flagrantly fouled Floyd by jumping up and head-butting him in the face. This was an obvious and deliberate foul by Victor Ortiz. Referee Joe Cortez correctly stopped the action momentarily and deducted a point from “Vicious” Victor Ortiz.


"Always protect yourself. It's the first rule of boxing. And one that Victor Ortiz picked the wrong time to forget Saturday against Floyd Mayweather," Graham said.