Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz got into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, September 17, 2011, and when all the dust settled, Mayweather was victorious.
The champ remains unbeaten, stopping Ortiz at 2:59 in the fourth round. The end came as the two fighters emerged from a break, in which Ortiz had embraced Mayweather in the center of the ring. As they broke, Mayweather shot out a left hand and followed it with a right that put Ortiz down in his corner.
Ortiz struggled to get up as referee Joe Cortez called an end to the fight. There was controversy, as Ortiz appeared to head butt Mayweather intentionally, leading Cortez to take a point away from him. After the head butt, Ortiz went to Mayweather and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Back in the center of the ring, two punches ended it quickly. Mayweather dominated with speed and solid punch landing during the first three rounds.
Mayweather, 34, is a five-division champion with a record of 42-0, with 26 KO’s. Ortiz, the WBC welterweight champion, is currently 29-3-2, with 22 KO’s.
Floyd was guaranteed $25 million for the fight, while his opponent will receive his biggest payday to date, a guaranteed $2.5 million.
Mayweather is known as one of the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world . Ortiz came highly regarded too, recently gaining a reputation as one of the sports hottest fighters after he outpointed Andre Berto for the welterweight title.
The athletes heated things up at their Friday night weigh-in when Mayweather grabbed Ortiz by the throat. Ortiz didn’t retaliate, but merely laughed it off and said, “It’s all a big joke. It’s nothing.” He then calmly told Mayweather, still smiling, “You’re going down, you’re going down.”
The heavily favored Mayweather showed confidence. “I have been at this for 16 years. This is the first time for Ortiz. I just have to keep my composure, stick to my game plan and listen to what my trainer tells me.”
More photos and video from weigh-ins and press conference below: