Victor Ortiz has a slight height advantage, but every other advantage goes Floyd Mayweather’s way. Photo by Mary Altaffer (AP)
Mayweather is 41-0, but Ortiz is looking to make a name for himself. Photo by Mary Altaffer (AP)
The long awaited match between Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. “Vicious” Victor Ortiz will be held this weekend at the MGM Grand Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas. Both fighters made an appearance on Monday at Universal Studios to kick off the final leg of the press tour to promote the fight. Although most fight observers agree that Mayweather has the skills and talent to win the fight, there are some skeptics who believe that it might be a tough going for him after coming off a sixteen month lay off.
Mayweather certainly doesn’t have a lack of confidence in himself, and he displayed that attitude in front of a crowd that was mostly Ortiz fans. The most interesting thing about these two guys is their contrasting styles of fighting. Mayweather has been considered one of the best defensive fighters of all times. With an in and out, peek-a-boo, hit and don’t get hit style, reminiscent of the greats Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson.
Mayweather has been very effective with this as evident in his 41-0 undefeated ring record. Although he’s been in some memorable bouts, one of his most challenging bouts was his two fights with Jose Luis Castillo, in which Castillo took him to the limit of twelve rounds in a classic war that Mayweather in both cases won the decision.
Ortiz has a ring record of 29-2-2 with 22 knockouts, and although he is considered an underdog in this match up, Mayweather is not taking him lightly.
One of the brightest stars in boxing today, this 24 year old has risen above a difficult upbringing and many obstacles to become a world champion, inspiring thousands along the way.
Ortiz had some tough fights also, including his clash with Marcos Maidana for the WBA super lightweight interim title in 2009. In one of the years best fights, Maidana went down three times and Ortiz twice before the Argentinean emerged victorious via six round technical knockout when Ortiz decided he’d had enough.
In April of 2010, Ortiz stepped up to the welterweight division to face Andre Berto for the WBC world championship. What followed was one of the most exciting championship bouts in recent history and one in which Ortiz came of age, and at the end of 12 rounds, the judges rendered a unanimous decision for the new WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz.
This weekend we shall see if Mayweather still has it, or if Ortiz is the young buck that is hungry enough to remain titleholder in the welterweight division.
Ortiz has a fighting style in which he tends to walk down his opponents, with power punches to the head and body. What is most troubling to most ring observers is that many believe that he has a “glass” chin.
This should make for an exciting match nevertheless. We’ll see what happens.
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