Here's how it went down... In the fourth, Ortiz began to smother Mayweather, who retreated to the ropes after being caught by two hooks by the Mexican fighter. Then, in what looked to be frustration, Ortiz hit him with, what seemed to be, an intentional headbutt.
Referee Joe Cortez immediately stepped in and called time, after which Ortiz approached Mayweather to apologize, then hugged and kissed Floyd on the cheek. Ortiz had a point deducted, and then, when the Cortez called "time-in," he embraced Mayweather once again -- this time, in the middle of the ring. However, Floyd wasn't having it. He pulled away, and blindsided Ortiz with a left hook and followed with a right cross that put Ortiz on the canvas. And, that was all she wrote.
The defending champ was counted out at 2:59 of the fourth round, and Floyd Mayweather walked away with the welterweight title.
The crowd let Mayweather have it, though, filling the MGM Casino with loud boos.
"We touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left and right hand after the break," Mayweather said in a post-fight interview with HBO's Larry Merchant. "In the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times."
Before the fourth, it was Mayweather who was winning through three rounds. As expected, he dominated with his speed, landing good right hands flush on Ortiz's chin. Ortiz, however, did land some shots here and there, but it was not enough to win a round.
In the fourth, Ortiz began to pick up the pace, doing all he could to close the gap between the two fights and get inside on Mayweather. But, the headbutt ended things just as they were getting good.
Despite the early stoppage, Mayweather said things were going as planned. From the looks of it, he is right. By the fourth round, he looked comfortable, and was calming down into his typical fight style, systematical picking apart the younger Ortiz.
"Without even a 4th round, he was going to get knocked out down the line anyway. I was getting stronger ... We were breaking him down," Mayweather explained in the post-fight presser. "I could slowly see his face busting up. But our game plan was to take our time. I was smiling. I was saying, 'I've been here before'."
Later, in his post-fight interview with Merchant, an irriated Mayweather went off on the veteran boxing commentator, after being asked about the "sucker-punch", which he refused to answer. "You'll never give me a fair shake, so I'mma go ahead and let you talk to Victor Ortiz. Alright? I'm through. Put somebody else up here to give me an interview..."
"What are you talking about?" Merchant responded.
"You never give me a fair shake. HBO need to fire you. You don't know sh** about boxing. You ain't sh**. Bitch you not sh**," continued Mayweather, before storming off. Not backing down, Merchant told Mayweather that if he "were 50 years younger", he'd "kick his ass."
Merchant then turned to Ortiz, who explained his side of the evening.
"I took the break by the referee and I obeyed exactly as I was told," he said. "And then, boom, he blindsided me.
"At the end of the day everyone has their opinions, but my opinion is that it wasn't a fair fight," he later added.
With Saturday's win, Mayweather remained unbeaten in 42 fights. Ortiz, who lost his 147-pound title, fell to 29-3-2.
What's next for the undefeated Floyd Mayweather? It's still too early to say. Ortiz wants a rematch, which Mayweather said he can have, but what boxing fans really want is: a super-fight between him and Manny Pacquaio. Will it happen?
It's unclear. After the fight, Floyd was singing the same tune he's been singing for months: "If [Pacquiao] don't have nothing to hide, then take the test. I just want an even playing field..."
In 2010, the Filipino boxing star agreed to a 14-day testing window, as negotiation talks between the two camps began for a second time. But, things fell apart, again, after Mayweather said he wanted to take an extended break from boxing.
As of now, boxing fans will just have to wait and see...
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