Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Must Fight Through Ortiz To Meet Pacquiao in 2012

Posted on | September 17, 2011 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron

Putting all the drama aside, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. will be tested tonight by a relentless young challenger and champion. Victor Ortiz will come to fight, but Floyd’s undefeated record seems to say it all. This is one many experts and fans see differently, though. The polls and predictions I’ve seen so far lean heavily toward Ortiz taking his title home with him.

Our own Tony “The Tornado” Penecale crunches the numbers and analyzes the skills and stats of each fighter to come up with Floyd as a knockout winner. I look back to Floyd’s last fight in the moments before the first bell. Floyd Senior leaned over in the corner and whispered something into Floyd’s ear, and the son nodded at the father and went to work. It was his most aggressive performance of his career in many respects. I barely ever saw him take a step back against Shane Mosley last May. He will have to top that show of sheer will tonight to win against a hungry Victor Ortiz.

Floyd also faces more pressure to win. During his open workout interviews (see some of the workout footage below and HERE) “Money” repeatedly thanked the media for keeping him “relevant.” Should he somehow manage to wind up on the losing end of this fight, Floyd might not be so relevant anymore. Instead, he’ll be relegated to playing second fiddle to fighters like Amir Khan and Manny Paquiao. Floyd simply has more to fight for even though it’s Ortiz who has the strap around his waist coming into this bout. This is a legacy fight for Floyd, a battle to prove he can beat them young and old in the boxing ring.

A win tonight paves the way for Pacquiao and Mayweather to belly up to the negotiation table and nail down a fight deal. As long as Pac-Man’s November showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez goes according to plan, these two phenoms are ripe to face each other now or forever hold their peace. These superstars are at the precipice where 2012 is the year they will either face off or face retirement with open questions as to who would have won if they had fought.

Floyd is in a must-win situation. Ortiz is in position to score the upset of the century.

Is Floyd’s 0 about to go, or will Ortiz be on the “Money?”

Tune in tonight to find out. My bet is on Floyd’s record staying unblemished with his 42nd victory in a row.