Mayweather vs Ortiz Most Exciting Fight?

The Mayweather vs Ortiz fight, announced this past week, could turn out to be a mismatch. Mayweather is the most-gifted fighter in the world while Ortiz, only 24, remains a work in progress. We all agree that Mayweather should be fighting Manny Pacquiao, his principal rival. That’s not possible right now, though. And Ortiz is a fascinating alternative. He’s young (24), strong, can punch hard, has solid skills, and is a southpaw. He lacks experience but he

has youth, hunger, quick hands, punching power and more guts than some believed before his war with Andre Berto. Plus, he’s a hot commodity after that victory. Ortiz probably won’t win but he deserves a chance to shock the world. And he certainly is a more-compelling choice than a used-up shell (Shane Mosley) or undersized veteran (Juan Manuel Marquez). Prediction: The fight will do 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, meaning the public will also have bought into it.

Mayweather doesn’t fight often. But there’s some quality-over-quantity starting to kick in here. Floyd has stood accused for many years of ducking top opposition, and it may well be that he’s ducking Pacquiao, but this now marks the second consecutive fight in which Mayweather took on the highest-rated, most worthy welterweight not named Pacquiao. The signing of this fight was announced directly by Mayweather on Twitter, with these words on the morning of June 7: “My fans have been waiting long enough. Floyd Mayweather vs Victor Ortiz. Sept-17 2011 for the WBC World Championship.”