Why sacrifice Ortiz this soon?

[Steak]

1. Its a ton of money
2. Losing does not=the end of your career. it can be an excellent learning experience.
3. Ortiz and his team might actually think he could win

[2Shotz]

I don't think it's a sacrificial gesture as I can't recall Mayweather wrecking too many fighters -completely humiliate and defeat, sure, but seldom wreck ala Hopkins or a Trinidad. Anyway, let's be honest. Ortiz is going to be outclassed by Mayweather. But, based upon his performance vs Berto, he should put up a valiant effort in losing and make for a fan friendly, exciting effort. And he is still young enough to again rebound and enjoy a career (and future title shots) well into his late 20s and early 30s. If you have a crowd pleasing style, the fans will forgive a less than perfect record. Look at Gatti or Ward... Anyway, I would imagine that any true competitor would love to step into that squared circle with one of the best fighters of this generation, if only to find out just where they stand.

[tangalog2200]

Ortiz vs Berto had the highest ratings for HBO this year. Yeah I think he is markatable. Atleast floyd is not fighting washed up old ass fighters like Pac is!

your by-line is way out of line of this thread....vic is "sacrificed" bcoz gbp, hbo and pbf need to do something lest they be overly sidelined by top rank and pac....also the term washed up old ass fighters are undeserved and only shows your ignorance on what is boxing...can you say such to bhop, george foreman, cotto, marg or jmm???

[KingTito]

What? First of all, Ortiz does have a shot at winning. Secondly, think of the exposure and payday. He'd be crazy not to jump on this opportunity. When you make a living fighting like these guys do, and you have a chance to have a fight with Pac or May, you better ****ing take it. Money baby. Money.

[PlayerKiller]

I thought Mayweather had pussies for hands, he throws few punches and all he does is run around~

How dangerous could that be for Ortiz~

Yes and Mr Ortiz who is 'I am too young to get beat like this' isn't exactly a great warrior.

Don't even bring up Berto, Collazo was on his level which Hatton was on Collazo's level. A past prime Mosely beat Collazo with ease too.

[vacon04]

I don't think they're sacrificing Ortiz, I actually think it's the other way around, Ortiz is getting huge exposure in a fight where he has more to win than lose. Why? Well first of all there's a lot of money involved. There's no other fight that will give Ortiz the amount of money he's going to get in this fight. Second, he can win. Yeah it is unlikely and if he wins it's going to be probably from a powerful punch. Third, it's going to be a great fight, Ortiz is going to go forward to try to win the fight, so it's not going to be a boring fight between 2 guys not trying to hit each other. And finally, lets imagine he loses, then what? He's still young and people would say "He lost against Floyd, every other boxer would have lost also" so the only way that Ortiz can actually "lose" is by doing the same thing he did with Maidana. If he loses by a legit TKO or KO, or by any decision then there's not so much of a consequence, he lost against the best, he'll recover.

[Mr. Philadel]

this is a win win situation for Vic....I don't think GBP is sacraficing him...their expanding his name by putting it next ot Floyd's under the brightest lights in boxing....Vic is living the dream atm

[sdcluser]

Is Ortiz really marketable? Seems like the only people that know Ortiz are boxing fans. The casuals don't have any idea who he is. I doubt the PPV goes over 1.2m buys

1.2 mil is definitely doable given Shane has probably a better known name.

TO the TS, this is not a sacrifice. Ortiz has a shot.
If Ortiz does well but still loses, he will STILL look good in the eye of the public.
It's like, "Dude this guy gave Floyd some hard time and didn't look too bad."
Ortiz loses big if he does very poorly.

[Fox McCloud]

Yeah, I have an idea.

$$$$$

^^^ The answer is and always has been quite obvious. It's the same reason everyone fought Oscar, even if they weren't at a point in their career to give themselves the best shot at winning the fight.

Is Ortiz really marketable? Seems like the only people that know Ortiz are boxing fans. The casuals don't have any idea who he is. I doubt the PPV goes over 1.2m buys

Mexican-American fans are pretty reliable, hence mozzer's post saying that it has clocked in as HBO's highest rated show of the year (I think it's actually second now that Hopkins-Pascal happened). Plus, the casual fan does watch Mayweather and Pacquiao PPVs with their friends, and I guarantee you, it helps when people rant and rave about how badass Ortiz's last fight with Berto was, just like real boxing fans are going tell their friends about how awesome the first two fights between Pacquiao and Marquez were... both of those are going to help a lot in generating interest for the fight, and that will be reflected in the amount of PPV subscriptions sold.

By the time they get done with 24/7, everyone will know who he is.

24/7 also does help a lot. Those who are interested in seeing Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. tune in to at least one episode of 24/7, and HBO does a good job talking about the most marketable parts of the opponent in each episode, so you can bet that there is going to be plenty of footage of Ortiz exciting the crowd against Berto.

No one is demanding that fight at 147. Once again Manny is giving us a fight that most really don't want to see. Mayweather this time is giving a fight that both casual and hardcore fans are interested in.

It's not the optimal fight that people want to see... obviously everyone would prefer Pacquiao to fight Mayweather Jr., but honestly... Pacquiao does have some unfinished business with Marquez. Both fights were scored for Marquez by more than a few people, and if Pacquiao whips him into shape, then he will forever get rid of the notion that he was at or just above Marquez's level in his prime. This will be helped even more if Marquez beats another couple of good fighters afterwards.

Most people have 0 chance of beating Floyd (VO has an ok shot) but he is getting paid millions to fight the best fighter on the Planet. Who wouldn't?

Good to see you as always Skills. And again, as always, you are correct in your analysis.

Why not? It's not like floyd lays these career ending beat downs on people, physically ortiz should be fine even if he gets dominated from pillar to post. Vic already came back from damn near oblivion once, I find it hard to believe anything floyd will do to him can be worse then quitting on his stool. His stock might even rise if he has a good showing.

This is also true, and I'm sure his handlers and promoters have considered that even if he loses (and even if it's a pretty one-sided loss), it won't be a soul-taking beatdown, so everyone involved makes a boatload of cash, and he can continue to excite the crowds and be the draw that he was, is, and will continue to be.

Yes and Mr Ortiz who is 'I am too young to get beat like this' isn't exactly a great warrior.

Don't even bring up Berto, Collazo was on his level which Hatton was on Collazo's level. A past prime Mosely beat Collazo with ease too.

Another stupid post from you... Are you telling me just because someone isn't great, you can't show that you are a warrior against them? That makes literally no sense. The rematch and rubber match of Gatti-Ward pretty clearly showed that Gatti was a level or two above Ward as a fighter (the third fight was only competitive because Gatti shattered one of his hands, limiting what he could do to keep Ward off him). However, in the first fight, I dare you to tell me that Gatti didn't show that he was one of the most courageous warriors we have had in the sport since the days of black and white television. Seriously, get your posting quality up or start posting at ESB, where everyone is on your level intellectually.

[Drunk Punch]

It's all about money. But heck, Victor doesn't have a zero to protect so why not? No shame in losing to Mayweather and maximum kudos if he pulls off the win.