Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz: Power Ranking Money May's Last 5 Opponents
Boxing fans have been waiting for the return of Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KO) ever since he defeated Shane Mosley in May, 2010.
That return will come on September 17th, when he takes on WBC Welterweight Champion "Vicious" Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KO). Ortiz currently holds the title that Mayweather won from Ricky Hatton in 2007. He vacated the title when he announced his retirement from the sport soon after that victory.
"Money May" returned to boxing in 2009 when he faced Juan Manuel Marquez, and it's been a one-fight-a-year type of career since.
Spanning five years and only five opponents, Mayweather has fought Mosley, Marquez, Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Carlos Baldomir.
These are how they rank against each other and how Ortiz fits into it all.
No. 5: Carlos Baldomir
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It was the biggest opportunity for Carlos Baldomir when he signed to fight Mayweather in 2006. The fighter from Argentina went into the fight with a 43-9-6 record and had not lost a fight since 1998.
"Tata" was coming off of back-to-back wins over Arturo Gatti and Zab Judah and appeared to have all the makings of a man who could possibly upset the undefeated pound-for-pound king. He was also a lead candidate for being Ring Magazine's "fighter of the year" award.
The hype was not close to being met when the two finally stepped into the ring on November 4th. For 12 rounds, Mayweather easily won a unanimous decision, out-pointing Baldomir 199 to 79 in total punches according to CompuBox.
It was a lackluster fight all-around, and a broken hand suffered by Mayweather helped attribute to his performance. Still, he was able to dominate his overmatched opponent, pinching a shutout on two of the three scorecards.
No. 4: Shane Mosley
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For two and a half years, "Sugar" Shane Mosley only fought two times, defeating Antonio Margarito and Ricardo Mayorga in the process of looking for that last big-money bout before he would decide if it was time to call it quits.
The fight between Mosley and Mayweather could have happened for years prior to when it did, and Mosley had only been a shell of his former self when they finally went face-to-face in May, 2010.
The victory did not come without rocky moments for "Pretty Boy," who almost went down for the second time in his career after Mosley landed a left hand in the second round. He survived and battered his 38-year-old opponent for the remaining 10 rounds, winning a unanimous decision.
Mosley would continue to fight on, taking on Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Mora. He is now 0-2-1 in his last three bouts.
No. 3: Oscar De La Hoya
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Like Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya was far from his prime when he finally met Mayweather inside the ring.
The former welterweight and lightweight champion was coming off a big victory over Ricardo Mayorga almost a year-to-the-day before putting his WBC super-welterweight title on the line against Mayweather in one of boxing's biggest bouts in May, 2007.
The jab worked well for De La Hoya, but there were far and few between. He later admitted in his biography that the jab was the key to defeating Mayweather, but it's easier said than done.
Over 12 rounds of boxing, Mayweather won a split-decision that should have been more decisive than the scorecards indicated.
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No. 2: Ricky Hatton
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RIcky Hatton, who was Ring Magazine's 2005 "fighter of the year," had finally made his U.S. debut in 2006 when he took on Luis Collazo for the WBA World welterweight title. He defeated Collazo, but it had not been the kind of convincing performance that warranted a shot at Mayweather.
He went on to defeat Juan Urango and Jose Luis Castillo in 2007 before signing to face Mayweather at the end of the year.
At 43-0, it was a very anticipated matchup between two undefeated superstars and pound-for-pound stars. Hatton brought an army of fans to the MGM Grand on December 8th, but it would not be enough to defeat Mayweather.
Despite questionable referee decisions by Joe Cortez, Hatton still provided a worthy effort before being knocked down by a left hook in the 10th round. Visibly hurt, Hatton was able to get up but was quickly swarmed by a Mayweather attack. Cortez waved off the bout as the "Hitman" went down for a second time, giving Mayweather a rare TKO win.
No. 1: Juan Manuel Marquez
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It was a questionable decision when Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez decided to move up to welterweight after competing and winning titles at lightweight and super featherweight in the years preceding the mega-fight.
It was also questionable for Mayweather as to why he was jumping back into the ring out of retirement without any warm-up bouts.
Nobody knew how much the weight gain would effect Marquez, but it was quite obvious on fight night. Mayweather out-pointed and knocked down his opponent over 12 rounds to win one of the easiest fights of his career against one of his toughest challengers.
Marquez had been coming off two knockout wins over Juan Diaz and Joel Casamayor. His only loss since 2006 had been to Manny Pacquiao by a controversial split-decision. In the end, it ended up being the warm-up bout that most boxing fans were looking for in Mayweather's return to the ring.
Where Does Victor Ortiz Fit into the Picture?
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Victor Ortiz is riding a lot of momentum coming off his April win over the previously unbeaten Andre Berto. It was easily the most impressive peformance of his career and one that erases many of the doubts people had of him after losing to Marcos Maidana in 2009.
Suceptible to knockdowns but able to deliver his own makes Ortiz a very exciting challenger for Mayweather, and it's a fight that will make him take his overall skills to a whole new level. He also has solid boxing skills that can make up for advantages that Mayweather brings to the ring.
The 24-year-old has an age advantage that many of Mayweather's opponents didn't. Marquez, Baldomir, De La Hoya and Mosley were well into their 30s when they fought the 2007 Ring Magazine "fighter of the year."
Ortiz will be Mayweather's toughest opponent in recent memory, and that makes it more than worth watching.
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