Mayweather vs. Ortiz: Floyd Mayweather Looking Fragile for Once on 24/7

24/7 was as entertaining as it ever has been.  Mayweather is still the perfect villain, Ortiz seems drawn up like a hero and Liev Schreiber's voice still makes the perfect soundtrack.

But something looked different this time.

Floyd looked old.

Not as in he looked like the older man.  No, he just looked old.

Fragile, even.

In every 24/7 Floyd has done, he still had the same mouth, the same skills and the same fragile, eggshell confidence that was pulled tightly over a massive inferiority complex.  

But he always looked fresh and young.  He always looked as unbeatable as he claimed he thought he was.

But this time Floyd didn't look like himself.  He still had the moves and the words.  The flashy smile and the natural antagonism to get everybody to despise him as the villain.  

Still, it all looked a little hollow.  A little more brittle.  Like it's ready to come apart at any moment.

Of course, Victor isn't even close to the level Floyd is.  Sure, he has youth and some power, but Floyd still has years of experience on him and can easily outbox Ortiz at any point.

It might be that my eyes are playing tricks on me.  Maybe the boxing fan inside of me wants to see Ortiz as a threat so I can justify going to see a PPV I know won't be competitive with an undercard I know I won't care about.

It could even be the camera using a different filter.  After all, it's in HBO's best interest to sell us on this fight. 

Still, I have a nagging feeling.  A feeling that Floyd has hit his prime and now is on the downward slope.

This doesn't mean that I think Ortiz will win.  I still don't.  I think Ortiz will go into the fight and still get his ears boxed off by the better man.

But suddenly I'm not so sure.

Who knows?  Maybe I'll boycott the pay-per-view.  Maybe I'll watch.  And maybe Floyd will look just like himself on the next episode.  Maybe Ortiz will step into that ring September 17 and win.

I'm not sure.  The only thing I know is that I'll be watching the next episode closely and trying to catch if I am seeing the disintegration of a great boxer or some brilliant marketing by HBO.

I'll only know for sure on September 20.