Well, that was interesting. After 16 months away from the ring, Floyd Mayweather returned to face the newly-surging Victor Ortiz and promised to knock the champion, a full decade younger than him, clean out. Mission accomplished, although in pretty much the strangest way possible.
After forcing Mayweather into a corner, Ortiz attempted one of the most conscious head-butts I have ever seen, actually jumping into it. As they reset, before referee Joe Cortez told them to fight, Ortiz apologized and was immediately blasted by a left-right combo from Floyd. Ortiz went down like a sack of lead and Mayweather kept that zero in the loss column he loves so very much.
Assuming this doesn't get overturned.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly happened. After the fight, commentator Larry Merchant, obviously of the mindset that Floyd had cheated, was talking down to Mayweather, who shouted at him that he needed to be fired and "didn't know shut about boxing." Merchant replied that he wished he was fifty years younger so he could "kick Floyd's ass." I will tell you one thing: I will remember this for a while.
Star-Divide
In slightly less psychotic news, WBC super welterweight titleholder and mega-prospect Saul "Canelo" Alvarez looked to keep his unbeaten streak alive against former "Contender" competitor Alfonso Gomez. That zero's still there, but it may have a few more dings and scratches than before.
Alvarez, 20, dropped Gomez early with a body shot, but proceeded to fight very conservatively and unsuccessfully attempt to utilize a Mayweather-esque shoulder roll defense. Gomez was landing hard right hands to his head, but Alvarez sparked his foe with a hard combo while backed into a corner, chased him down, and flurried his way to a TKO win.
He's still got a ways to go and a lot of wrinkles to iron out, but he's only 20. The kid's still going places. Fellow Mexican hero and all-around badass Erik Morales, the last man to beat Manny Pacquiao, was in action, as he attempted to become the first four-division Mexican champion at the expense of unbeaten prospect Pablo Cesar Cano.
"El Terrible" lives.
After having difficulty with Cano's power early, Morales cut Cano and just kept building momentum. After beating both of Cano's eyes nearly shut and causing a torrent of blood to drain down his face, Morales got the vacant WBC title when the referee, on the advice of Cano's corner, stopped the fight.
"Young man's game," huh?
Rounding out the main card was Mayweather protégé Jessie Vargas, also unbeaten, taking on tough-as-nails veteran Josesito Lopez.
And they put on a show.
Vargas used better hand-speed and technique to good effect, but Lopez bullied him around the ring all night and dug in deep to the body. He got a major break when referee Tony Weeks took a point from Vargas for a low blow late in the fight, but the fading Vargas was still able to hold his own and finally eked out a split decision.
I would not mind seeing this one again. Make it happen. And so, after a snooker loopy night of fights, I leave the rest of the conversation to you, Maniacs. What did you think of all the night's action?
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