Wayne McCullough says referee Joe Cortez was at fault for Floyd Mayweather's controversial KO.
Mayweather KO should not have been allowed to happen
Is Floyd Mayweather Jnr one of the best fighters of all time or is he just the best defensive minded fighter?
Well, if he fought the way he did in the first three rounds of this weekend's WBC welterweight fight with reigning champ Victor Ortiz, maybe he would be classed as an all time great. Mayweather actually came forward in this fight, controlling it up to its controversial ending.
Ortiz won the WBC belt after stepping up in weight from light welter this past April when he defeated Andre Berto. He had come back with 5 wins and one draw following his loss to Marcos Maidana in June 2009. He was questioned after this bout regarding his desire to fight. Now his first defence was against 5 weight division champion Mayweather.
Mayweather only had two fights since his stoppage win over Britain's Ricky Hatton in December 2007 so most people thought his reflexes would not be the same. He is 34 years old, 10 years older than Ortiz, but he was the big draw in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Even though it was not sold out, Mayweather is still a pay-per-view dream.
During the first three rounds, Ortiz tried using his right jabs while moving to his right. He didn't go to Mayweather's body first which is the smartest thing to do since Floyd moves his head so quickly.
Mayweather was coming forward and was looking a little more exciting, pin pointing straight right hands off his opponent's head. Ortiz was in the fight but, in my opinion, Mayweather was a class above after three rounds and there were no signs that his reflexes had diminished.
The fourth round is where the controversy began. While Mayweather was pinned on the ropes, Ortiz landed some good body shots for the first time in the fight, then threw a few head shots that missed. Showing his frustration, Ortiz came up with his head and clearly butted Mayweather. Referee Joe Cortez immediately deducted a point.
Instructions
The fighters got close as Ortiz looked as though he was apologising to Mayweather. Cortez had his eyes on the timekeeper waiting for the acknowledgment to allow the fight to continue. Mayweather connected with a left hook and a right hand to the chin of Ortiz who fell to the canvas.
Cortez was clearly not looking at the fighters and had not instructed them to box on when the punches landed. Ortiz was also looking at the referee waiting for his instructions when h got hit and went down. He tried to get up but was counted out.
As fighters we are told to "protect yourself at all times" but in this case the referee wasn't even looking at the fighters when the punches were thrown. He ultimately should have put them in neutral corners or separated them far enough to where they couldn't land any punches while waiting for the referee's instruction. After a foul, the referee should always say "box" - but in this case he didn't.
Mayweather should have been deducted two points and Oritz should have been given five minutes to recover but neither happened. I know Cortez personally but in my opinion I feel as though he made a mistake and he and the commission should step up and admit it.
Even though it has happened to me, I would never take a cheap shot against my opponent.
Mayweather is the best fighter around today and was showing glimpses of excitement in this fight. He doesn't need to give Ortiz a rematch because he was ahead in the fight and it didn't seem like that was going to change during the remainder of the bout.
But he should at least admit that he did foul Ortiz and move on to the next one.
