Not that anyone was expecting an apology, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn’t give one for the way he ended his world welterweight title victory over Victor Ortiz on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“What goes around, comes around,” Mayweather Jr. said in celebration of his fourth-round knockout. “You wanted a knockout, that’s what I gave you.”
Questions of sportsmanship, boxing ground rules and fairness were raised from the conclusion of the bout, which was set up by Ortiz delivering a vicious head butt to Mayweather’s mouth in the closing seconds of the fourth.
Referee Joe Cortez stopped the action, and quickly deducted a point from Ortiz, who had forced a close round after losing the first three on two of three judges’ scorecards.
Ortiz actually kissed Mayweather on the cheek after the cheap shot, and Mayweather fumed as he tasted blood from cuts inside his mouth.
Action had yet to resume, and Ortiz was still seeking forgiveness, asking for a hug when Mayweather had immediate revenge on his mind.
“You could see the anger on your face, like all the experience of your long career was being used to get this guy back,” a reporter said to Mayweather.
“Thank you,” Mayweather said, placing his hand on the questioner’s arm. “It was time to fight. What was he going to do? Hug me again? This guy who said I was a dirty fighter?”
So Mayweather watched Cortez closely, and even though Cortez’s gaze was directed elsewhere, Mayweather said boxing ethics are that once the combatants touch gloves, “It’s fight time. It’s open season.”
Did Ortiz hear “Box!” from Cortez? He said no.
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