Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is going to be returning inside the boxing ring after having been gone for more than a year. He announced via his official Twitter account to his more than 1.2 million followers about his upcoming much awaited comeback and he will be facing off against Victor Ortiz. He tweeted, “My fans have been waiting long enough. Floyd Mayweather versus Victor Ortiz. Sept. 17, 2011 for the WBC World championship.” Ortiz will be defending his WBC Welterweight Championship belt and the match up will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
To this day, Mayweather is still undefeated with as scorecard of 41 wins with 25 knockouts. He is a five division world champion and has won ten world titles. He was formerly the number one pound for pound fighter of the world but he was displaced after having been inactive for a long time. He has been named Fighter of the Year for several times by different sports organizations. He is hailed as one of the greatest boxers of all time, and was ranked as the sixth Most Powerful Person in Boxing by Yahoo! Sports. He has been pitted against some of the biggest names in boxing like Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, and Oscar de la Hoya. Mayweather last fought against Sugar Shane Mosley were he won via unanimous decision, and it was a huge success as it was considered as the second highest non heavyweight pay-per-view fight in boxing history after generating 1.4 million buys, earning more than $78.3 million in revenue.
But American boxer has suffered a few setbacks lately in both his professional career and his personal life. Back in 2010, he was slated to be going up against the current pound for pound king and seven division world champion Manny Pacquiao. But negotiations soon fell through after Mayweather’s camp demanded an Olympic-style blood testing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency anytime. But Pacquiao’s team wanted that no tests will be done within a 24-day window. From then on certain allegations and accusations from both sides have been hurled, prompting Pacquiao file several charges against him. Meanwhile, Mayweather is also facing domestic violence cases from his former girlfriend, Josie Harris. He is also charged with felony theft, two felony coercion charges, felony robbery, and misdemeanor domestic battery charge. If he will be found guilty, Mayweather could be sent to prison for up to 34 years.
Meanwhile, Victor Ortiz is quickly making a name for himself in the boxing world and is one of the most up and coming boxing star. He was named as Prospect of the Year in 2008 by ESPN. He has a record of 29 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws, with 22 KOs. Ortiz is now considered as the second best welterweight fighter, behind Pacquiao, by several sporting organizations including The Ring, and ESPN. He is nicknamed as Vicious Victor Ortiz.
But his first loss and draws are not considered as significant as his first defeat stemmed from disqualification for knocking out Corey Alarcon in 2005 while the referee ordered for the two fighters to separate from a clinch. His first draw came from a fight against Martin Cordova Jr. in 2007, when an accidental head butt opened a cut on his forehead, rendering him unable to continue with the fight. The second draw was considered as controversial when fought against Lamont Peterson in 2010 after one of the scorers gave the fight 97-91, in favor of Ortiz. But Ortiz made a successful comeback when was pitted against Andre Berto last April 16, 2011. The then-undefeated Haitian-American boxer unsuccessfully defended his WBC Welterweight title after Ortiz won via unanimous decision. Their match up is considered as a huge contender for Fight of the Year as it is one of the most explosive fights this year.
But the Mayweather-Ortiz will surely make a run for their money as it is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated fights this year. And both fighters have a lot going for them for this fight. Mayweather wants to make a successful comeback after suffering several backlashes. He wants to prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the boxing arena. Meanwhile, Ortiz also wants to carve his name and being the first boxer to defeat, or even knockout, Mayweather would then send on to the top. Mayweather vs Ortiz Live Stream.
