Mayweather vs. Ortiz: Cheap Shot Mars Floyd's Legacy Until He Fights Pacquiao

Floyd "Money" Mayweather has shown time and time again that he only cares about himself.

The unbeaten 34-year old boxing superstar knocked out Victor Ortiz last night in the fourth round of their WBC Welterweight fight, but didn't do so without controversy.

Mayweather threw an indefensible cheap shot at the younger fighter after referee Joe Cortez had docked Ortiz a point for a headbutt a few seconds earlier.

After the two fighters touched gloves, Mayweather rocked Ortiz with a two-punch combination that sent the 24-year old champion to the mat with a dazed look on his face.

Cortez wasn't even looking at the fighters when the punches were thrown, and Ortiz wasn't even looking at Mayweather.

As it happened live, it didn't even look real.

But Cortez awarded the knockout win to Mayweather and the fight was stopped. 

The 42-0 fighter may have gotten the "W" and his money, but this is just another example of the selfishness that consumes Mayweather.

He's been running from a fight with Manny Pacquiao for years now. He can cite whatever he wants as the reasoning, but he's proven he's as likely to fight the world's best pound-for-pound boxer as he is to admit he took a cheap shot at Ortiz.

If he decides not to fight the Filipino superstar, this unfortunate Ortiz debacle will be one of the lasting images of Mayweather as a fighter.

Mayweather is ridiculously quick and talented. At any given moment, he can strike with a three-punch combo before his opponent even registers the first punch.

But, he's a punk who likes to avoid a real fight as much as possible.

The worst that could have come of the punches was Mayweather getting docked a point as well. And the best-case scenario was obviously a knock down.

With the fourth-round KO, he avoided any more of a fight with a powerful youngster and got out with a win. There are not many fighters that would have thrown that punch and expected to get away with it.

Mayweather has had a brilliant career, one that hasn't seen him ever put an "L" on his resume, but this latest win is actually an asterisk on that record.

He can wipe it out, but only if he finally gives in and fights Pacquiao. The world of boxing deserves it. The sports world deserves it. But unfortunately, that doesn't matter to Mayweather.

He'll keep his unbeaten record intact even if it means doing so with an asterisk.

What makes us think he'll ever put that on the line with a fair fight against Pacquiao?

If Mayweather doesn't fight Pacquiao, his career will be tainted with an ugly asterisk courtesy of his selfish boxing mentality.