Mayweather vs. Ortiz: Cheapshot Creates Uphill Battle for Victor Ortiz

Victor Ortiz fell victim to a classless sucker punch, but, in the end, the loss still counts and he's going to have to prove he belongs in the same ring as a fighter like Mayweather all over again.

Let's face it, Ortiz was losing the fight even before the cheap shot. Mayweather had control for the entire fight, and Ortiz was in trouble. While heinous, if the sucker punch hadn't been thrown, it would have just been delaying the inevitable.

Ortiz has to prove his worth once more. He's battled his way up the ranks and still has time to reassert himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in the world. Even so, at this point it doesn't look like he can hang with the best the world has to offer.

Ortiz is a great up-and-coming fighter, he's just not Mayweather's caliber yet. A rematch would give way to the perception that Mayweather's record is tainted, but it's unlikely that it would be a better fight.

This fight doesn't start Ortiz back at square one, but it was a huge blow to his career. The sucker punch ultimately made him a lesser fighter in the eyes of most of the boxing community.

While clearly Mayweather's now notorious act of unsportsmanlike behavior made Ortiz an object of sympathy, it didn't make him any more of a fighter.

He's got a lot to prove to the world and himself. While most people would be rooting for him in the event of a rematch, he has to show that he is worthy of one.

At this point it seems as though we'd see Ortiz hit the canvas in a rematch. He's not ready to challenge Mayweather, and, in all honesty, he never was. He'll get his shot again, but it's going to take time.

Fair or not, that sucker punch sent his stock shooting downward just as fast as it sent Ortiz to the canvas.