Floyd Mayweather will be fighting an exhibition bout against his former opponent, ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz, on August 24th in Mexico. This will be the fabulously rich 47-year-old Mayweather’s eighth exhibition match since 2018.
Compared to Mayweather’s previous exhibitions, this one is actually interesting because Ortiz is still young, powerful, and has fast handspeed. If Ortiz has anything left after two years out of the ring, this could end badly for Mayweather.
Will U.S. Fans Tune In?
It’s interesting that Mayweather is choosing to run it back with ‘Vicious’ Victor Ortiz, but the fight might do well in Mexico. Unfortunately, U.S. fans won’t be interested in this match-up, as Ortiz has been off the grid for way too long and is viewed as a 100% shot. This is more of a fight that will appeal to the older demographic.
Only the older fans will remember who Victor Ortiz was from his upset victory over WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto in April 2011 and then his falling apart in his next fight against Mayweather in his first defense in September of that year.
The Original Fight: A Head-Butt and a Cheap Shot
Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout is reporting on a Mayweather vs. Ortiz rematch on August 24th. Ortiz (33-7, 25 KOs) is still young at 37, but he’s lost five out of his last ten fights since 2011 and is considered well past his prime.
Mayweather, 47, knocked out the WBC welterweight champion thirteen years ago, stopping him in the fourth round in September 2011. Ortiz, a one-hit wonder, saw his career immediately go down the drain from that point on.
The fight between Mayweather and Ortiz was a weird one. Ortiz didn’t look bad in the first three rounds of the contest. However, in the fourth, he head-butted Mayweather in what appeared to be an intentional move done out of frustration.
When Ortiz tried to apologize to Mayweather when the action resumed, Floyd took advantage of it by clocking him with a left hook to knock him out. Classy, Floyd, real classy.
The fans at ringside booed the way the fight ended, and it was a bad way for Mayweather to win the fight, as it made them look like cheap shot artists. In hindsight, Mayweather should have offered Ortiz a rematch, but he didn’t. He moved on, and the win left a stain.
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