IF you weren’t stunned, shocked, by what Floyd May-weather jr. has done, something’s wrong with you. Sorry, but that’s my thesis. Cruel? But then, come to think of it. Mayweather hit a defenseless foe and came out the winner by knockout. But, of course. Victor Ortiz was defenseless when he got banged up twice by Mayweather. In the face. When he got smacked, it had seemed like Ortiz got run over by a speeding train, if not by a 10- wheeler truck being driven by a speed freak. But, of course. Almost, you are DOTS (Dead On The Spot)! Ortiz couldn’t get up at the count of 10.

 

But, of course. He was still on his knees, crawl­ing pitifully like a drunken man felled by shots in succession of tequila, gin, vodka, brandy, whis­key, bourbon, tuba, lambanog and basi. When he came to, Ortiz had the humility to say, “My fault. It was a learning experience for me.” He was axed deliberately and he had the graciousness to blame himself? For God so blessed the humble and they will be exalted.

  Maywether’s explanation for his merciless act? “You have to protect yourself at all times.” True. Very true. But how can you protect your­self when you aren’t looking? How can you parry, duck, a punch when you didn’t know it was coming? That wasn’t being smart on the part of Mayweather. That wasn’t being intelligent on the part of the most cunning of all in boxing. That was taking advantage of a situation that places all the ad­vantages of one bent on commit­ting murder. Plain and simple.

 

If this were killing in broad day­light, it was premeditated murder. Plain and simple. It was even like shooting a de­fenseless fellow in the back. Plain and simple. Yet, Mayweather is supposed to be the best, next only to Manny Pacquiao, of course. Oh, well, you can always con­tend Mayweather didn’t break any law in boxing when he delivered those knockout blows, allowing him to steal Ortiz’s world welter­weight crown. I agree 1001 percent all the way.

But if you insist he didn’t break the law of men, of how to conduct yourself in a gun duel even, then you ought to have your coconut checked. To be good in boxing is one thing, to be a gentleman is an­other. What, you persist in saying you need not be a gentleman when fighting? Uh-oh. So, you will shoot a man armed with a mere slingshot dead? If your answer is yes, then, fine, go on, wallow in your own stupid­ity. I’m out of here.

***********
For Floyd, a win counts as the only thing REMEMBER that ear-chomp­ing stunt Mike Tyson had inflicted on Evander Holyfield? Or Roy Jones hitting a foe al­ready down on his knees? Both Tyson and Jones were declared losers by disqualification on both occasions. Now, you think you’ve seen ‘em all? Wrong.

In boxing, you’re always bound to see things more incredible than the above. Like this one. Yesterday, Floyd Mayweather Jr. hit Victor Ortiz twice in the face to win by knockout. There’s nothing wrong there, boxing being chiefly the business of punching the foe till victory is achieved. But then, it was also like this. Ortiz wasn’t looking, was defenseless, when Mayweather fired the two shots at him.

Ortiz was talking to referee Joe Cortez when Mayweather uncorked what might shortly be­come boxing’s most controversial left-right combination ever. It was the most bizarre scene in boxing in years. Ortiz was looking at referee Cortez. Cortez was looking at a judge down below the ring, seemingly explaining further the one-point deduction earlier slapped Ortiz for head-butting. Mayweather was looking at Or­tiz. So, quickly now, who among the three was doing the right thing atop the ring? Mayweather, of course. He practiced a boxer’s cardinal rule to the hilt: Protect yourself at all times.

Ortiz was remiss on that and he paid a price for it. “My fault,” he said. “This was a learning experience for me.” With that, he displayed matu­rity beyond his age. Only 24, Or­tiz took his fate with trepidation, dignity. And I salute him for that. I couldn’t do the same to Cor­tez who, by entertaining a query from down below, left his guard down—resulting in Floyd’s fluky, fight-stopping shots. What a shame, indeed. It happened so suddenly.

First, Ortiz, roundly beaten in the first three rounds, sprung to life in the fourth round. He pum­meled Mayweather in a corner but then, shockingly, he leaped and head-butted the lips of May-weather. Almost instantly, Cortez stopped the fight and rapped Or­tiz with a one-point deduction. Ortiz immediately apologized to Maywether, 34. When action was about to resume, Ortiz, perhaps still con­science-stricken, went to May-weather for a second embrace while expressing yet another apol­ogy. They had barely been sepa­rated when Mayweather sneaked a left hook on the right cheek of Ortiz. Stunned, Ortiz turned to Cor­tez to complain. Unfortunately, Cortez wasn’t looking and, boom!, Ortiz got hit with another shot on the same cheek—a sizzling right blow coming all the way from Grand Rapids, Michigan (Mayweather’s birthplace). Since he was hit dead-center, Ortiz fell like a log—with a thud, naturally. He was counted out in 2:59 of the fourth and is now 29- 3-2.

Would you have done the same if you were in Mayweather’s shoes?
Not me. The reason maybe that, unlike Mayweather, I have yet to compile a 42-0, win-loss record.

(Abridged columns at Manila Standard-TODAY and Sunday PUNCH)

< Prev		Next >