Mayweather vs Ortiz: Round-by-Round Predictions for Saturday's Bout

This is the first time we've seen the most polarizing boxer in the sport in the ring in over a year.  Many will tune in to see him triumph again or finally take his medicine.  Either way, many will watch.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 41-0 in his 15 year career.  Still, he is hated by almost as many as he is loved. He averages just under two fights per year but has tailed off in activity in the last five years, though he has still maintained his sharpness in every bout.

What will the next challenge bring for Money Mayweather?  Young Victor Ortiz is fresh off a exciting victory over highly regarded Andre Berto.  This fight rekindled Ortiz' career.  He had taken some heat for what seemed like a partial "No Mas" moment when he was defeated by Marcos Rene Maidana.

This fight is a tune-up for the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao super-bout which could presumably take place in 2012.

First things first, here is a round by round prediction for the fight.

Round 1

Mayweather will be cautious.  He hasn't fought many southpaws, the last one was Zab Judah and Judah was successful early, even stunning Mayweather in the fourth round.

He will be on guard against that early on, he'll use this as an opportunity to gauge and time Ortiz.

Ortiz will be aggressive, attempting to go to the body to slow Floyd down.  Ortiz wins this round based on Floyd's inactivity.

Ortiz 10

Mayweather 9

Round 2

Round 2, Floyd begins to slip Ortiz' punches.  This is also a danger zone for Floyd, he'll stop and plant in this round looking to counter with the patented straight right,

Ortiz will be excited as he may get his best opportunities here.  If he can land some power shots here, it'll change the fight.

My prediction is that he won't, Floyd has a way of messing with opponents footwork as they try to plant and throw accurate power shots.  Floyd wins this round on controlling tempo and effective counter-shots.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 19

Ortiz 19

Round 3

Ortiz turns up pressure, trying to cut the ring off, but Mayweather starts to vary attacks, throwing straight right leads and beating Ortiz to the punch in striking distance.  This is where hand-speed becomes a factor.

Ortiz still believes he can land the big shot, but Mayweather isn't utilizing the shoulder roll as much against the powerful southpaw.  The straight right lead and counter starts to land with more regularity.

Another Mayweather round.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 29

Ortiz 28

Round 4

After Ortiz's corner urges him to keep pressing.  Ortiz obliges, continuing his efforts to cut off the ring.  He lands a good left hand, Mayweather smiles but of course that means it stung a little.

Mayweather gets back in his defensive stance and, by the end of the round, he regains control.  Still, because of a clean punch landed, Ortiz gets the round.

Ortiz 10

Mayweather 9

Totals:

Ortiz 38

Mayweather 38

Round 5

Ortiz comes back out aggressive but Mayweather is ready, he slips a few wild hooks and counters with the right and steps away.

Swelling starts to show over the left eye of Ortiz.  Mayweather begins to taunt Ortiz, you can see in his body language that he believes he has the formula now.

Mayweather wins the most lopsided round of the fight so far.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 48

Ortiz 47

Round 6

Mayweather is very confident now, he is still slipping punches and he is now crouching when the fighters are in close and countering with one hook at a time.

Ortiz is starting to doubt himself, he has lost some steam and confidence.  This equals another easy round for Mayweather.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 58

Ortiz 56

Round 7

After being urged on by his cornermen, Ortiz tries to go after Mayweather again but he just can't find him. He is getting hit at will now with the pot shot straight right and he isn't quick enough to counter or slip.

HBO starts to zoom in on the crowd, showing celebrities as they can sense this fight ended two rounds ago for all intent and purpose.  A cut opens on the left eye of Ortiz and Jim Lampley makes reference to the fact that Ortiz almost quit in a similar situation against Maidana.

Another round for Floyd.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 68

Ortiz 65

Round 8

Ortiz seems content to  go through the motions but he seems to have realized he can't win this fight. His posture has changed and he isn't walking forward with as much purpose.

Emanuel Steward finds a way to bring up the Klitschko brothers.  He goes on a rant about that for a good two minutes until the bell rings and Floyd wins another round.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 78

Ortiz 74

Round 9

The announcers go full in on the Mayweather-Pacquiao discussion as this is a foregone conclusion. Ortiz is still trying to exorcise his past quitting demons, he is trying to apply pressure. 

It does keep Floyd from going into clown mode as Ortiz is still throwing, but he isn't landing with any regularity.

Harold Lederman scores the bout heavily in favor of Floyd Mayweather and he of course works in the term ring-generalship.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 88

Ortiz 83

Round 10

The Ortiz cut is bad and his corner states the obvious to him, screaming "you need a knockout".  Ortiz tries again to land the telling blows but Mayweather dances away at every attempt.

Too much speed but Mayweather loses a round because of inactivity as he spends more time avoiding than countering.  Its a risk that isn't worth it, considering his lead.

Ortiz 10

Mayweather 9

Totals:

Mayweather 97

Ortiz 93 

Round 11

Victor Ortiz is gaining tons of respect in this fight as he is giving another valiant effort.  Still, he can't solve Mayweather.  The cut and swelling is now manageable as Mayweather's punch output has decreased in the last two rounds.

He still does enough to win this round as not to allow any room for error in the decision.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Totals:

Mayweather 107

Ortiz 102 

Round 12

It is finally over, Mayweather closes the fight in style with one combo that removes the final bit of steam from Ortiz.  The fans start chanting Pacquiao's name in the crowd.

In a humble post-fight interview, Mayweather gives respect and kudos to Ortiz.  Ortiz' interview is done with slight dejection as would be expected.

The inevitable Pacquiao question is asked of Floyd.  He responds with a willingness to set the fight up that we've never seen from him.

Mayweather 10

Ortiz 9

Final Results: Mayweather  117, Ortiz 111