Ortiz pressed his forehead to his challenger's, Mayweather pushed forward. For emphasis, Mayweather's right hand grasped at Ortiz's neck, a finger jamming upward under the champion's jaw.
The most important fact of the day was that Ortiz, 24, weighed in at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds while the 34-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) weighed 1461/2.
Establishing why this confrontation occurred was speculation.
"Mayweather's pretty nervous, he knows he'll have the hardest fight of his life," Ortiz's trainer, Danny Garcia, said.
"Distractions are only things you see when you lose focus," Ortiz's manager Rolando Arellano said. "Mayweather can do whatever … he wants. We got one thing on our mind, and if a legendary 41-0 fighter has to do that, that's a clear sign of insecurity and inadequacy."
Mayweather's chief advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, blamed the escalation on Ortiz's immaturity.
"The kid's never been on a stage like this before," said Ellerbe. "He finally realized, 'I'm going to be fighting the great Floyd Mayweather.'
"Floyd, as always, was cool and calm. You could see the kid's nerves looking into his eyes."
The fighters were then represented in a rules meeting with the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the World Boxing Council.
The Ortiz camp has already written a letter to the commission alleging Mayweather throws too many elbows. Mayweather will be paid a guaranteed $25 million for the bout, with Ortiz earning $2 million.
However, as the fight wore on and fatigue set in, Ortiz’s punches became less and less compact. The shot he took from Berto that floored him in Round 6 was because his combinations became more looping than short, more open than compact. That cannot happen against Mayweather. Where Berto may be bullet-fisted, Mayweather’s punches are more like lasers: they are fast, straight and unforgivingly precise. Ortiz can’t leave himself open for anything like he did against Berto and hope to come out on top.
Yep, “Vicious” Victor Ortiz will have to be just that: vicious. He’ll need to be equal parts fierce and ferocious. Like he did against Berto, Ortiz will have to come to the ring focused, determined and just plain mean. More than that, though, he’ll have to drag Mayweather somewhere he’s never been before: down for the count. Ortiz is generally a nice guy outside of the ring, but in the ring on Saturday, he’ll need to have a scowl on his face. He’ll need to be a beast.
His aggression will need to dictate the fight. Mayweather should always be stepping backwards and never comfortable. Ortiz will need to come in with his guard high ready to throw punches. He’ll need to push Mayweather where he wants him and he’ll need to unload on him whenever he gets the opportunity.
Most importantly, if he catches Mayweather with something solid and hurts him, he’ll need to finish the job. Mayweather has shown the ability in his career to come back after taking some pretty decent shots to recover quickly, so Ortiz will need to make sure Mayweather doesn’t have any time to do so. He’ll need to unload hard, fast and heavy. Once Ortiz puts him to the canvas (rather, if he puts him to the canvas) he’ll need to have been vicious enough during their preceding time together in the ring that Mayweather will not want to get back up and fight — even if he can.
It won’t be easy, but it can happen. Ortiz can shock the world Saturday night, but he’ll need everything he has. He’ll need to be more than a volume puncher, more than a short, powerful combination puncher and more than vicious. He’ll need to be all those things combined. He’ll need to be great. He’ll need to be the best.
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