Mayweather vs. Ortiz: 5 Things We Learned About Money May in Win

The Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Victor Ortiz bout that took place this past Saturday night was nothing if not decisive in every way.

A knockout is about as decisive as it gets. When a clean knockout occurs, the scoring goes out the window and the winner is simply the fighter left standing.

The decisive nature of this fight wasn't just about the end result, though. Ortiz landed a few flurries at different points of the fight, but on the whole, Mayweather was controlling the action.

At the time that all the controversy started, Mayweather had Ortiz backing up and clearly on the defensive.

Even though the fight ended somewhat prematurely, we learned a lot, particularly about the winner. 

Let's take a look at the five things we learned about Mayweather in his win over Ortiz.

He Is Still the Premier Defensive Boxer in the World

Coming into the fight, there was some concern that an aggressive and strong Victor Ortiz would be able to get Mayweather out of his comfort zone.

It didn't take long before we realized that this was not going to be the case. Mayweather was the same fighter he has always been, displaying the defensive prowess that we have come to associate with him.

I don't have to tell you that it was clear that Mayweather was the better defensive boxer at the end of the night. The first rule of defensive boxing is to protect yourself at all times.

Forgetting that rule was Ortiz's undoing.

He's Quicker Than Most Would Think

I wouldn't say that we learned that Mayweather is quick on Saturday night. We already knew that. It's just that we needed a performance like the one he gave to remind us that he has that type of quickness in his arsenal.

Ortiz clearly thought that he was the fitter and faster fighter, as he tried to push the pace with Mayweather early.

Once Ortiz realized that Mayweather was matching his pace and then some, he became visibly frustrated. It was that frustration that likely led to Ortiz feeling the need to resort to a head butt.

That head butt, of course, set off the chain of events that ended the match.

He Will Do Anything to Win a Match

There are tons of varying opinions on the way in which the fight ended.

Some say that Ortiz started the dirty fighting with his head butt and that Mayweather's "sucker punch" was a reasonable response to the ramming dive into Mayweather's chin.

Others say that someone who views himself as an all-time great, as Mayweather does, should never feel comfortable winning a match that way.

Still, others think that it's ridiculous to think that it was a cheap shot on Mayweather's part. Their logic is that Mayweather acknowledged Ortiz's apology and that Ortiz should have protected himself rather than going in and trying to hug Mayweather.

No matter what your opinion is, you have to admit that Mayweather always has his eye on the prize. Ortiz seemed more concerned with saving face with Mayweather and the crowd, while Mayweather kept his focus on winning the fight.

He Has a Problem with Larry Merchant

By far the most humorous part of this whole ordeal was the post-fight interview with Mayweather, conducted by HBO's longtime boxing analyst Larry Merchant.

It was obvious that Merchant had a real problem with the way Mayweather won the fight and he called him out on it.

It was also obvious that Mayweather is not a fan of Merchant himself. When Merchant challenged the way he had won, Mayweather came back at him, spouted some expletives and accused Merchant of not giving him a fair shake.

Merchant came right back and said that if he was 50 years younger, that he would, well, beat him up.

I can understand why Mayweather was frustrated that he had to explain what he did, but that's no reason to berate an 80-year-old man.

He Is Open to a Rematch with Ortiz

In the aforementioned crazy post-fight interview with Merchant, Mayweather said that if Ortiz was unhappy with the result, he could have a rematch.

Given the fact that he was soundly beaten in the match, I'm not sure how open Ortiz would be to taking a rematch, but it would certainly generate a lot of interest.

A rematch between the two could deliver what this fight could not. That would be a longer, more competitive outcome and a buzz-worthy lead-up to the fight itself.