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Showing no signs of ring rust after a year and a half layoff, Floyd Mayweather Jr defeated reigning WBC welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz last night at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.
Kicking off the fight, Mayweather stood right in front of vaunted powerpunching southpaw Ortiz, firing lead right hands that connected through the guard of the champion. Ortiz got in a few glancing shots but Mayweather either slipped most of Ortiz’s work or stiffled the punches in close.
The was a little more space between the fighters in the second frame. Mayweather scored first with lead rights before Ortiz landed a good left. Mayweather started throwing left jab, straight right sequences that scored. A frustrated Ortiz started to use head during the wrestling along the ropes.
Mayweather used the jab to keep Ortiz at a distance in the third. Ortiz got in a good left, Mayweather responded with a few lighting quick right hands before rocking Ortiz with a left hook. Mayweather then started applying with good defense as Ortiz missed with most of his efforts.
Ortiz got in a good shot at the start of the fourth, putting Mayweather on the ropes but the challenger blocked most of the follow-up assault. Mayweather regained control and apllied pressure until late in the round when Ortiz nailed him with a right, left combination and let go with both hands as Mayweather was driven back on the ropes.
As Mayweather was blocking or slipping most of the assault, Ortiz leapt off his feet, driving his head directly into Mayweather’s face. As Mayweather reacted with disbelief, referee Joe Cortez broke the action and went over to the time keeper while Ortiz hugged an upset Mayweather in apology.
As Cortez was taking a point from Ortiz for use of the head, Ortiz again apologized to Mayweather by touching gloves. After telling off Ortiz, Cortez motioned for the fight to begin again.
Inexplicably, Ortiz apologizes to Mayweather for a third time by touching gloves and then trying to hug him. Mayweather responds by hitting Ortiz with a left hook. As Ortiz, who doesn’t have his hands up, is looking at Cortez, Mayweather follows with a big right hand that catches the champion flush.
Ortiz goes down hard on his back, with his head hitting the canvas. He fails to beat the count, resulting in a KO win for Mayweather at 2:59 of the fourth round.
Mayweather regains the WBC welterweight title and remains undefeated at 42-0 (26). Ortiz loses for the first time in two years, falling to 29-3-2 (22).
Chief support was provided by a clash between 35 year old former multi-weight champion Erik Morales and undefeated 21 year old prospect Pablo Cesar Cano for the vacant WBC light welterweight crown.
Morales applied relentless pressure throughout the contest and while he was outboxed by the much younger Cano, “El Terrible” got in enough jabs and right hands to produce significant damaged and swelling around the eyes of Cano, although Morales himself was suffering from facial cuts in the second half of the bout.
By the tenth frame, Cano’s nearly shut left eye burst open and was bleeding heavily. The ringside physician cleared Cano to continue but it was a bad injury and the bout was stopped before the start of the eleventh round.
Erik Morales wins a world title in a fourth weight class, improving to 52-7 (36), whils Cano suffers his first loss, falling to 22-1-1 (17).
The undercard featured another upset by spoiler Carson Jones, 32-8-2 (22), who won his sixth in a row inside the distance by halting Said Ouali, 28-4 (20), after seven rounds at welterweight.ht
Light welterweights Jessie Vargas, 17-0 (9), and Joseito Lopez, 29-4 (17), went at it for all ten rounds of their close fought contest. Vargas made things more difficult for himself by losing a point in the eighth for straying below the belt but emerged victorious by split decision, winning two cards by scores of 96-93, 95-94 while Lopez took the third 95-94.
