Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz: 3 Things Money May Must Do to Win

Lost in the excitement, joy and speculation which has been the return of former pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather Jr., has been the actual fight he will be in against welterweight champion Victor Ortiz on September 17th. 

Ending what will amount to a 16-month layoff, many see this fight as a warm-up to a potential mega-fight against current pound-for-pound champ Manny Pacquaio.

But blessed with power, speed, desire and a southpaw stance, Victor Ortiz may put a few wrinkles into the plans of the now 34-year-old Mayweather. 

With plans to keep his must talked about unbeaten record in tact, here are three things Floyd Mayweather must do to beat Victor Ortiz. 

3. Manage the Pace

While he might not have the most crowd pleasing style, Floyd Mayweather's ability to manage the speed and pace of a fight has been a major part of his winning all 41 of his bouts.

If Manny Pacquiao is an exploding bomb, Mayweather is a trained and lethel sniper, assessing and studying his opponents before taking them out with well planned and accurate shots. 

If Mayweather is able to keep the fight at a slow pace, by holding effectively and keeping Ortiz off guard with feints and movement, he should have no problem dissecting and picking apart Ortiz.  

2. Keep the Distance

Floyd Mayweather is a master at keeping distance and he'll need that against Victor Ortiz.

If there is anything attribute that Ortiz possess an advantage over Mayweather, it comes in his power punching and knockout ability. As we saw in his bout against Andre Berto, Ortiz isn't a very skilled boxer, but does possess a strong left hand and the adequate speed to get it off.

Throughout his career Mayweather has used a vast array of defensive techniques, including shoulder rolls and pushing off via the forearm, to keep his opponents at a comfortable range.  

Keeping the distance has become increasingly important as Mayweather has offensive repertoire has moved almost exclusively to falling-in, lead right hands.   

1. Be Money

Throw away all the tactics, angles and storylines and the bottom line is if Floyd Mayweather is on his game, there is no way Victor Ortiz can beat him.

Mayweather is simply too fast, too sound defensively and ultimately too talented for Ortiz.

But after a 16-month layoff the question remains to whether this is the same Mayweather who dominated the likes of Mosley, Marquez and Hatton or an older and slighty slower version, that would suddenly become vulnerable.

That will be decided September 17th.