By Jorge Conejo
There are some mixed feelings coming from boxing fans regarding Floyd Mayweather’s decision to return against a green champion like Victor Ortiz instead of fighting Manny Pacquiao in the fight everyone wants to see.
I believe this is another calculated move by Floyd Mayweather Jr. to pick an opponent he believes he can beat easily and use the promise of fighting Manny Pacquiao in the future to sucker more people to buy his pay-per-view only for him to retire for another year or two without fighting Pacquiao.
But Floyd is seriously underestimating the young Ortiz. Victor Ortiz is known for his inconsistent performances in the 140 pound weight division, he quit against Marcos Maidana, and he was in a less than stellar fight with an old Nate Campbell and fought Lamont Peterson to a draw.
The thing is Victor Ortiz was a huge 140 pound fighter, he would balloon back to 160 pounds on fight night, and when you have to cut so much weight it can have an affect on your performance. Ortiz stepped up to the 147 pound welterweight division and took on the untested WBC champion Andre Berto and won the title from him in a spectacular war.
Ortiz was out to prove the naysayers wrong in that fight and he fought like a man ready to die in the ring, he charged Berto and dropped him the first round and even tasted the canvas himself in that fight, but was able to persevere and win the title. There was no quit in Victor Ortiz that night.
I feel that Ortiz will be able to beat and possibly KO Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a few reasons: Ortiz is 23 years old, ten years younger than the 34 year old Mayweather and youth is a huge advantage when it comes to conditioning and stamina; Mayweather hasn’t fought in over a year and at 34 years old he will have some rust, when he fought Mosley he was rocked twice by overhand rights, and Ortiz can crack; Ortiz like Manny Pacquiao is an energetic southpaw and Floyd has trouble with southpaws; Victor will have the size advantage and his aggression and power will be very dangerous for Floyd; Floyd doesn’t have enough power to hurt Ortiz.
If Ortiz charges Floyd early and often like he did against Andre Berto he has a big chance to pull off the upset and hand Floyd his first loss. Remember Andre Berto isn’t as technical as Floyd but he hits harder than Floyd does, and he will trade punches. If Floyd decides to be defensive and Ortiz doesn’t fear his jab or power, Floyd will be in for a tough fight and take a lot of punishment since his legs are gone and he is more flatfooted now. Remember Ricky Hatton was able to close the distance and give Floyd a tough fight for 10 rounds, Ortiz is bigger and stronger than Hatton and if he pressures that way and Floyd cannot hurt him, he has a good chance of stopping Floyd for the first time.
People are counting Ortiz out because he is green and inexperienced, but if he shows the desire he did against Andre Berto, we could be in for something special.
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