LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Floyd Mayweather dethroned WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz with a controversial blind-side punch in the fourth round of their lively title fight on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Mayweather knocked out Ortiz at 2:59 of the fourth as he hit the champion and fellow American after a break in the fight with a left-right combination while Ortiz had his hands down in the centre of the ring.
“It is protect yourself at all times. We touched gloves and that is all she wrote,” the still-unbeaten Mayweather said. “He did something dirty but we are not here to complain about what he did dirty or I did dirty.”
Referee Joe Cortez had stopped the fight in mid-round to deduct a point from Ortiz for head-butting Mayweather in the corner during a vicious exchange of punches.
Ortiz had just finished apologizing twice to Mayweather for the head butt when Mayweather surprised him with a short left.
After the fight, Ortiz and his corner complained about the way the referee handled the final moments of the fight, but Ortiz also took some of the blame for not protecting himself.
“It was called a break and I did as I was told,” Ortiz said. “I looked at the ref and then boom! I was out. There was a little miscommunication by the ref. But I have no one to blame but myself. It was a learning experience.”
The MGM Hotel and Casino crowd booed the decision by Cortez to give the victory to Mayweather, who had been winning the 147-pound fight by a slim margin through the first three rounds.
Cortez said he had officially restarted the fight following the head butt and point deduction and that Mayweather had a green light to start punching again.
“Time was in, the fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal,” Cortez said.
The 34-year-old Mayweather is now 42-0 with 26 knockouts and looked impressive early despite taking 16 months off since his last fight.
But Mayweather wasn't done in the ring, and after the fight he engaged in a obscenity-laced confrontation with HBO interviewer Larry Merchant.
“You never give me a fair shake. HBO needs to fire you. You don't know (expletive) about boxing,” Mayweather said.
Merchant fired back, “I wish I was 50 years younger: I would kick your (expletive).”
Ortiz, who came into the fight 14 pounds heavier than Mayweather, was coming off a solid victory over Andre Berto.
In the fourth round, the two fighters were locked in a corner exchanging blows when Ortiz thrust his head up and forward to hit the chin of Mayweather, who had his back to the ropes.
Mayweather immediately complained to the referee, who stopped the fight to deduct a point from Ortiz. Ortiz then apologized to Mayweather for the first time.
“I am not a dirty fighter. I told Floyd I didn't mean to do that,” Ortiz said.
The fighters then moved to the centre of the ring and Ortiz put his arms around Mayweather and apologized again. Ortiz dropped his hands, stepped back as Mayweather caught him unaware with a quick left that stunned Ortiz before knocking him down with a straight right hand.
“I got hit with a dirty shot. It is protect yourself at all times. I hit him with a left hook-right hand that ended the bout,” Mayweather said.
Ortiz had been fighting well up to that point, showing he was more than just Mayweather's tuneup for a possible fight with Filipino champ Manny Pacquiao next year.
The 24-year-old Ortiz was fighting for the second time as a true welterweight as his record fell to 29-3-2 with 22 knockouts.
On the undercard, veteran boxer Erik Morales, the last fighter to beat Pacquiao, stopped fellow Mexican Pablo Cesar Cano to win a title in a fourth weight division.
Morales battered and bloodied the younger Cano before the fight was stopped at the end of the 10th round by the corner of Cano, who was a late replacement and took the fight on with just a few days' notice.
The HBO telecast also included Saul “Canelo” Alvarez keeping his 154-pound WBC title belt by stopping Alfonso Gomez at 2:36 of the sixth round.
Alvarez raised his record to 38-0-1, with 28 KOs. – Sapa-AFP