Very bad night for boxing...

This was another unneeded black eye for boxing, and here are my reasons in no particular order:

1) The premature stoppage of Alphonso Gomez: People want to see knockouts and knockouts that are spectacular, especially from young up and coming fighters. At the time of the stoppage Gomez hadn't even gone down yet in that round and was winning the fight and still had some semblance of his wits. This stoppage will only raise questions about what kind of fighter Canelo really is. I think he would have won by KO anyway, I don't think the referee would have stopped it as quickly had Canelo been decisively winning the fight.

2) The Champion Entering the Ring First: Just stupid and confusing to the casual fan. Floyd was the challenger in this contest and should have followed the tradition and come to the ring first, I hate when the bigger name fighters come to the ring last when challenging an opponent.

3) The Ortiz Head Butt: In the middle of a flurry where he was pressuring (NOT HURTING, but doing enough to win a round) Floyd, he gets frustrated and blatantly head-butt’s his opponent. On a stage like this that sort of tactic is inexcusable, especially when his team was calling Floyd a dirty fighter leading up to the fight. Only Duran can get away with stuff like that .

4) Floyds Sucker Punch: While I will not dispute the legality of the punch (It was legal) this was poor sportsmanship at its most obvious. Floyd continues to sully an already dirty sport. Ortiz is a professional fighter that should have defended himself at all times (only a sucker gets suckerpunched) but Floyd losing his cool and belting an opponent that clearly wasn't ready after the referee stopped in the action is terrible for boxing. The best boxer the last 25 years has seen continues to denigrate our sport with his behavior. This sort of thing shouldn't happen between two men of this caliber during a fight of this magnitude. Floyd should know this and be an ambassador to the sport instead of an Achilles heel. People are paying big money to see him perform and Floyd knows what he did was wrong which is why he immediately offered a rematch to Ortiz, very unlike Floyd to do so.

5) Joe Cortez: Signals fight then decides to speak to Ortiz's corner and turn his back to the action? Time to go Joe.

6) Floyd and Larry Merchant’s Meltdown: Entertaining if it was on Springer. Merchant should not get in the face of guys so quickly when their emotions are running and adrenaline is through the roof. Merchant thinks he's bigger than the athletes he's interviewing much like Jim Gray. This will make for entertaining youtube fodder but this again leaves our sport in ridicule. Floyd's reaction was almost as shameful as Merchant's badgering.


Tonight was not a good night folks. This left fans unsatisfied and the sport under a negative spotlight again. Floyd needs to fight Manny more than ever now. That will be the only thing that will salvage what tonight turned out to be.

I disagree. Part of the appeal for boxing is the crazyness that goes on. That realy anything can happen. And that's always been the allure with boxing. It's refreshing in the fact that every sport gone politically correct, that there is still a sport out there that is ran like Wild Wild West.

The way the Mayweather fight ended is far better than say Mayweather pecking out another boring decision. Pac-Mosley was far more of a black eye for boxing than this fight.

I also disagree with the complaint of the "Champion" entering the ring first. Ortiz was a trinket holder, not a Champ. And for once, HBO did a good job of explaining that to the viewers. That ABC belts mean jack today. Nothing but promotional tools.

Only thing I agree with is Averez-Gomez stoppage. But I don't think you'll find anyone that would agree Gomez would have won that fight. His bell was rung and he'd be KO'd eventualy. The match-up was more of a joke than the stoppage. Gomez did better than expected, but think was more of a case of Alverez just not taking him seriously.

You're happy with a fight ending in a controversial fashion? Trust me, tonight didn't bring any new fans to the sport. I watched at work with all casual fans and ALL were disgusted with Mayweather and all quite happy that they didn't pay for it. The wild west antics is exactly why people turned the sport off. When it was run with one commission with one belt per division more people watched and it was more organized. People will be calling this fight a fix because of this crazy nonsense.

They consider themselves champions and this was a championship fight and it should follow in accordance with everything else.

Prior to the KO Mayweather wasn't pecking at anything. He was in the pocket landing hard counters and lead rights, four in a row at one point. The sucker punch was as unneeded as the headbutt.

Its not would have its could have and with your statement you once again contradict yourself, you just said that people watch fir the craziness, would have been crazy if Gomez landed a big shot against a guy wobbled by Jose Cotto instead the referee erased that possibility with an early stoppage.

I agreed with you that the premature stoppage was the worst part of the night. But no way I saw Gomez winning that fight. I didn't support the match-up to begin with. And I'll take a premature stoppage then say Gomez staying in the fight because Alverez either flat out sucks or isn't taking him seriously, and winning by a already handed in scorecards. Which is what would happen. Alverez and Oscar's meal ticket wasn't losing in that building.

It could have been a lot worse. And again, stand by that Pac-Mosley was a worse night of boxing then tonight.

I and most fans would rather see a guy counted out then a quick stoppage. Alvarez was fighting on a Mayweather card he was going for the KO.

Three huge cards in a row that were bad and all three involved the best. Pac, Mayweather and Klitschko. This needed to be better and was instead a circus.

Pac-Mosley was a joke match-up. I along with others said this the minute it was announced. Of course I got called a dick for it, but it's all good. Turned out exactly as expected. It was shit.

Klitschkos have always beeen boring and have had bad fights. Klit-Haye sucked, but so did Wlad-Sultan, and countless other borefests.

Mayweather-Ortiz was a circus fight for sure, but entertaining. Sure, I'm glad I didn't pay 70 bucks to see it. But I wouldn't pay 70 bucks to see any PPV fight. That's highway robbery.

Boxing needs reformed, so many issues are plaguing this sport.

Larry Merchant might have pleased some by his reaction but it doesn't help the sport at all, he's suppose to be a respected legend of the sport. And for the record Larry never kicks Floyd's ass during any decade of his life.

Just watched the fight and was extremely disappointed at the way it ended. I'm disappointed with Ortiz for that stupid and pointless headbutt, and disappointed with Mayweather for retaliating with a cheap shot. What makes the ending so disappointing is that Ortiz was in the fight and doing okay; who knows what might have happened.

hardcorebee24 wrote:This was another unneeded black eye for boxing, and here are my reasons in no particular order:

1) The premature stoppage of Alphonso Gomez: People want to see knockouts and knockouts that are spectacular, especially from young up and coming fighters. At the time of the stoppage Gomez hadn't even gone down yet in that round and was winning the fight and still had some semblance of his wits. This stoppage will only raise questions about what kind of fighter Canelo really is. I think he would have won by KO anyway, I don't think the referee would have stopped it as quickly had Canelo been decisively winning the fight.

2) The Champion Entering the Ring First: Just stupid and confusing to the casual fan. Floyd was the challenger in this contest and should have followed the tradition and come to the ring first, I hate when the bigger name fighters come to the ring last when challenging an opponent.

3) The Ortiz Head Butt: In the middle of a flurry where he was pressuring (NOT HURTING, but doing enough to win a round) Floyd, he gets frustrated and blatantly head-butt’s his opponent. On a stage like this that sort of tactic is inexcusable, especially when his team was calling Floyd a dirty fighter leading up to the fight. Only Duran can get away with stuff like that .

4) Floyds Sucker Punch: While I will not dispute the legality of the punch (It was legal) this was poor sportsmanship at its most obvious. Floyd continues to sully an already dirty sport. Ortiz is a professional fighter that should have defended himself at all times (only a sucker gets suckerpunched) but Floyd losing his cool and belting an opponent that clearly wasn't ready after the referee stopped in the action is terrible for boxing. The best boxer the last 25 years has seen continues to denigrate our sport with his behavior. This sort of thing shouldn't happen between two men of this caliber during a fight of this magnitude. Floyd should know this and be an ambassador to the sport instead of an Achilles heel. People are paying big money to see him perform and Floyd knows what he did was wrong which is why he immediately offered a rematch to Ortiz, very unlike Floyd to do so.

5) Joe Cortez: Signals fight then decides to speak to Ortiz's corner and turn his back to the action? Time to go Joe.

6) Floyd and Larry Merchant’s Meltdown: Entertaining if it was on Springer. Merchant should not get in the face of guys so quickly when their emotions are running and adrenaline is through the roof. Merchant thinks he's bigger than the athletes he's interviewing much like Jim Gray. This will make for entertaining youtube fodder but this again leaves our sport in ridicule. Floyd's reaction was almost as shameful as Merchant's badgering.


Tonight was not a good night folks. This left fans unsatisfied and the sport under a negative spotlight again. Floyd needs to fight Manny more than ever now. That will be the only thing that will salvage what tonight turned out to be.

I agree you would never see Ali, SRL, or any great fighter want to win on a suckerpunch and then brag about it like he ws proud to drop a guy who has his hands down

i disagree with almost all the points made. whilst Floyd's reaction was unsportsmanlike, Ortiz trying to win with his head was a far worse misdemeanor. what Floyd did was legal. Cortez should have gone a long time ago, he should have counted time in and then instructed the fighters to box with his full attention on them. the stoppage of Gomez i feel was not premature, after the referee stopped the fight Gomez literally slumped. i felt it was a good stoppage as Gomez was going to end up down and out at that point anyway. the referee was the closest to see Gomez and so his decision to stop the fight under such circumstances must be respected. Larry Merchant has to go, his ego is far too big. his job is to remain neutral and unbiased at all times and not to antagonise the men that put him in a job

dbudge wrote:i disagree with almost all the points made. whilst Floyd's reaction was unsportsmanlike, Ortiz trying to win with his head was a far worse misdemeanor. what Floyd did was legal. Cortez should have gone a long time ago, he should have counted time in and then instructed the fighters to box with his full attention on them. the stoppage of Gomez i feel was not premature, after the referee stopped the fight Gomez literally slumped. i felt it was a good stoppage as Gomez was going to end up down and out at that point anyway. the referee was the closest to see Gomez and so his decision to stop the fight under such circumstances must be respected. Larry Merchant has to go, his ego is far too big. his job is to remain neutral and unbiased at all times and not to antagonise the men that put him in a job

You agree with half of what I wrote... Ill take it lol.

hardcorebee24 wrote:6) Floyd and Larry Merchant’s Meltdown: Entertaining if it was on Springer. Merchant should not get in the face of guys so quickly when their emotions are running and adrenaline is through the roof. Merchant thinks he's bigger than the athletes he's interviewing much like Jim Gray. This will make for entertaining youtube fodder but this again leaves our sport in ridicule. Floyd's reaction was almost as shameful as Merchant's badgering.

This is the only one I'm not sure I hate because I think it builds interest in Floyd's next fight on HBO (even if it's through controversy). I don't think Floyd blew up because of Larry's questioning last night. I think it's because he didn't give him credit for his victory and has been picking apart Floyd's victories for years (since before he won his first belt) saying that he's a boring fighter, or too defensive, or would lose to higher caliber opponents, or doesn't push himself, etc. Floyd realized Larry once again wasn't going to go "great win champ, how'd you do it?" and threw a tantrum. I think that tantrum will make a lot more people hate Floyd though and I absolutely love how Merchant just laughed it off.

Gumby wrote:

hardcorebee24 wrote:6) Floyd and Larry Merchant’s Meltdown: Entertaining if it was on Springer. Merchant should not get in the face of guys so quickly when their emotions are running and adrenaline is through the roof. Merchant thinks he's bigger than the athletes he's interviewing much like Jim Gray. This will make for entertaining youtube fodder but this again leaves our sport in ridicule. Floyd's reaction was almost as shameful as Merchant's badgering.

This is the only one I'm not sure I hate because I think it builds interest in Floyd's next fight on HBO (even if it's through controversy). I don't think Floyd blew up because of Larry's questioning last night. I think it's because he didn't give him credit for his victory and has been picking apart Floyd's victories for years (since before he won his first belt) saying that he's a boring fighter, or too defensive, or would lose to higher caliber opponents, or doesn't push himself, etc. Floyd realized Larry once again wasn't going to go "great win champ, how'd you do it?" and threw a tantrum. I think that tantrum will make a lot more people hate Floyd though and I absolutely love how Merchant just laughed it off.

I think its irresponsible to do that to a guy that just got in a fight. Set up an interview a month later and take him to take him to task. Its sandbagging at its finest. A cheap way to garner a reaction imo.

Larry is a known Floyd hater. He got what he was looking for with Floyd. He clearly baited him. He did the same with him after the Baldomir fight. Difference was for that fight Larry had every right talking shit to Floyd after Floyd's KO prediction and Gladiator attire to the ring. But last night Floyd dominated for 4 rounds and took advantage of a rookie mistake. Larry gave him no credit.

completely agree, it was a horrible ending. while entertaining, it is not how a fight should end. still kind of glad some one finally came back at larry merchant. merchant always tries to push buttons and and get under fighters skin after the fight. especially floyd, while he deserves a lot of the hate he gets, he was not really in the wrong in this situation. merchant needs to go, use max more often.

kbyte wrote: Just watched the fight and was extremely disappointed at the way it ended. I'm disappointed with Ortiz for that stupid and pointless headbutt, and disappointed with Mayweather for retaliating with a cheap shot. What makes the ending so disappointing is that Ortiz was in the fight and doing okay; who knows what might have happened.

+1

I dont see how Ortiz was in the fight at all.

Disagree with the post. It was a very good night for boxing.

Four great fights and a dramatic event that has the sports world (and non-sports world) talking. There are still front page articles on CNN.com right now about last night.

Every single fighter last night progressed forward in their boxing careers. Nobody went backwards.

I don't think it was a bad night. I'll take it over a boring Mayweather decision win.

But the thing is, I expected this from Ortiz. He does not have the mental toughness to handle getting out-classed and shut-out. Had the fight continued, he'd pulled a Tyson and try to foul his way out. Maybe another head butt. Or some gonad shots.

After thinking about the fight for a while I don't blame Floyd one little bit for the cheap shot. What Ortiz did was way worse imo and Floyd was just giving him what he deserved. That headbutt was as vicious as they come and completely illegal. What Floyd did was legal and Ortiz deserved it.

hardcorebee24 wrote:This was another unneeded black eye for boxing, and here are my reasons in no particular order:

1) The premature stoppage of Alphonso Gomez: People want to see knockouts and knockouts that are spectacular, especially from young up and coming fighters. At the time of the stoppage Gomez hadn't even gone down yet in that round and was winning the fight and still had some semblance of his wits. This stoppage will only raise questions about what kind of fighter Canelo really is. I think he would have won by KO anyway, I don't think the referee would have stopped it as quickly had Canelo been decisively winning the fight.

2) The Champion Entering the Ring First: Just stupid and confusing to the casual fan. Floyd was the challenger in this contest and should have followed the tradition and come to the ring first, I hate when the bigger name fighters come to the ring last when challenging an opponent.

3) The Ortiz Head Butt: In the middle of a flurry where he was pressuring (NOT HURTING, but doing enough to win a round) Floyd, he gets frustrated and blatantly head-butt’s his opponent. On a stage like this that sort of tactic is inexcusable, especially when his team was calling Floyd a dirty fighter leading up to the fight. Only Duran can get away with stuff like that .

4) Floyds Sucker Punch: While I will not dispute the legality of the punch (It was legal) this was poor sportsmanship at its most obvious. Floyd continues to sully an already dirty sport. Ortiz is a professional fighter that should have defended himself at all times (only a sucker gets suckerpunched) but Floyd losing his cool and belting an opponent that clearly wasn't ready after the referee stopped in the action is terrible for boxing. The best boxer the last 25 years has seen continues to denigrate our sport with his behavior. This sort of thing shouldn't happen between two men of this caliber during a fight of this magnitude. Floyd should know this and be an ambassador to the sport instead of an Achilles heel. People are paying big money to see him perform and Floyd knows what he did was wrong which is why he immediately offered a rematch to Ortiz, very unlike Floyd to do so.

5) Joe Cortez: Signals fight then decides to speak to Ortiz's corner and turn his back to the action? Time to go Joe.

6) Floyd and Larry Merchant’s Meltdown: Entertaining if it was on Springer. Merchant should not get in the face of guys so quickly when their emotions are running and adrenaline is through the roof. Merchant thinks he's bigger than the athletes he's interviewing much like Jim Gray. This will make for entertaining youtube fodder but this again leaves our sport in ridicule. Floyd's reaction was almost as shameful as Merchant's badgering.


Tonight was not a good night folks. This left fans unsatisfied and the sport under a negative spotlight again. Floyd needs to fight Manny more than ever now. That will be the only thing that will salvage what tonight turned out to be.

absolutely perfect post

My problem with Floyd hitting Ortiz is how he did it. He intentionally duped the naive kid. I accept your ..... (half step back and throw as fast as I fucking can)...... apology. It was bullshit.

The least anyone owes another fighter is to make it clear they want to fight, fuck your apology and lets go.

To act for the kid and then sucker punch him was a bitch move.

I expected Ortiz to pull bitch moves when the going got tough (head butts qualify). I didn't expect Floyd to do so unless the going got tough (maybe he didn't want to have to grind through 2-3 more rounds of Ortiz coming at him hard the way he did in the 4th round before putting Ortiz down for good).

captainanddew wrote:I expected Ortiz to pull bitch moves when the going got tough (head butts qualify). I didn't expect Floyd to do so unless the going got tough (maybe he didn't want to have to grind through 2-3 more rounds of Ortiz coming at him hard the way he did in the 4th round before putting Ortiz down for good).

I'm far from a Floyd defender, but that was a disgusting headbutt. It went through Mayweather's lower lip. He showed it in the post fight. Looked like his teeth went into his lip.

So yeah, if somebody headbutted me like that during a fight, I would not be very happy. And last thing I'd accept is some bullshit apology and hug and make-up.

To me, soon Ortiz headbutted Mayweather, strict Queensberry Rules went out the window.

Shaun wrote:Disagree with the post. It was a very good night for boxing.

Four great fights and a dramatic event that has the sports world (and non-sports world) talking. There are still front page articles on CNN.com right now about last night.

Every single fighter last night progressed forward in their boxing careers. Nobody went backwards.

A fourth round KO on a cheap shot and an early stoppage were great?

Victor Ortiz went backwards. He fouled when he got frustrated and then abandoned the oldest adage in the sport and got KO'd for it.

Floyd went backwards because he KO'd a guy when his hands were down.

Canelo didn't erase any questions or doubts and beat another smaller faded fighter.

Morales is old and beat an unranked nobody.

If this was on FNF I wouldn't be so critical. This was the biggest fight of the year and wound up a circus.

It was a circus, but people are talking about the fight. And that's far better than having Pac-Mosley, or Wlad-Haye.

Those were a black eye for boxing.