It has been a long time since Floyd Mayweather Jr. stopped any of his opponents. Through the later years of his career, a great majority of his fights have gone the distance, much to the disappointment of many boxing fans.
The last time “Money Mayweather” was awarded an official knockout win was on September 17th, 2011, when he faced Victor Ortiz for the WBC welterweight title. It was a fight that was marred by controversy, mainly because of how it all ended.
As expected, it was another classic performance courtesy of Mayweather through the opening rounds. 34 years old at the time, he was landing his right hands at will and was evading punches that were coming at him, whether the action was at the center of the ring, or by the ropes. The southpaw stance that Ortiz employed did not seem to faze Mayweather, despite claims of pundits about his supposed “trouble” against it.
Ortiz did have his moment during the last 15 seconds of the fourth round when he was able to close the distance and corner Mayweather to the ropes. Probably brought on by the rush of adrenaline, along with three rounds of frustration, Ortiz suddenly threw an upward headbutt, hitting Mayweather in the mouth.
The action was briefly put to a halt by referee Joe Cortez. As the fight resumed and Ortiz went on to apologize, Mayweather threw a left hook-right cross combo that landed flush. Ortiz was on his back seconds later, and the fight was stopped, awarding Mayweather the controversial knockout victory.
Analysts claim that Conor McGregor may have to resort to “borderline illegal tactics” to win the August 26th fight, but Floyd Jr. has so far proven that he can handle himself in such situations.
Nine days from now, Mayweather and McGregor finally cross paths, this time inside the boxing ring, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
About the author
