LAS VEGAS -- Protect yourself at all times. It is the oldest adage in boxing. Victor Ortiz did not do that, and he paid the ultimate price.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., who had dominated the first three rounds, looked brilliant in his first fight in 16 months, but that brilliance may be overshadowed by the way he scored a stunning knockout with one second left in the fourth round Saturday night to win a welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Some at ringside called it a sucker punch from Mayweather. Others blamed referee Joe Cortez, who did not have his eye on the action. Whatever you want to call it, Mayweather drilled Ortiz in a triumphant return to the ring.
Ortiz was getting tagged repeatedly by Mayweather right hands for most of the fight. Mayweather was making it look oh-so easy, as he usually has during a career that obviously will send him to the Hall of Fame.
But in the fourth round, Ortiz found some success. He landed a couple of hard shots that had Mayweather shaking his head, as if say he did not feel them. But then Ortiz drove Mayweather into the corner post. Instead of following up with punches, Ortiz drove his head toward Mayweather's face as if to intentionally head-butt him. Cortez immediately called time and deducted a point from Ortiz.
Then the fight turned somewhat surreal.
As Cortez was calling time, Ortiz -- seemingly acknowledging his wrongdoing -- hugged Mayweather in the corner and even appeared to kiss him.
Then Cortez waived them back together and they touched gloves. But with Cortez looking away from the fighters, Mayweather unloaded a left hook and a flush right hand to Ortiz's face.
Ortiz dropped and was unable to beat Cortez's count as the crowd of 14,687 -- clearly an Ortiz house -- went absolutely wild.
"In the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times," Mayweather said. "After it happened, we touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left hook and right hand after the break. You just gotta protect yourself at all times.
