By Phil D. Jay
Five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr believes that a win against WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz in September will propel him back into the top pound for pound fighters in the world. The 34 year-old faces Ortiz, ten years his junior, after a sixteen month spell out of the ring and aims to win his ninth world title.
“I chose Victor Ortiz. I mean, there’s always excuses when I fight; they say he’s either too small, he’s too slow or he’s too old. I chose Victor Ortiz, a young, strong, solid champion and I think he brings excitement to the sport of boxing,” Mayweather explained to Ben Thompson of fighthype.com.
There were doubts that the ‘Pretty Boy’ would return to ring prior to his announcement on Twitter earlier this week as the Grand Rapids fighter has had multiple personal problems surrounding his private life and has endured months of speculation as to whether he will face WBO belt holder Manny Pacquiao.
‘Vicious’ Ortiz (29-2-2) is, like Pacquiao, a southpaw, so the obvious assumptions have already began to raise their heads. Most people around boxing are seeing this fight as a warm-up for a mega-unification fight with the ‘Pacman’ next year, possibly at the Cowboy’s Stadium in Texas and have already put two and two together to make five.
Phil D. Jay covers the boxing scene for worldboxingnews.net
