Posted by pythrr on 2011-09-19 05:49:46

bah

'protect yourself at all times in the ring'

silly man

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-19 06:07:09

That is the rules.

Posted by pythrr on 2011-09-19 08:17:12

yup

nice analogy you draw with fouling, etc. /me likes

Posted by Overhamsteren on 2011-09-19 10:08:25

"I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass" :D

I am not a boxing fan, I hate boxing, so I guess I can legitimately complain about this and say it was a super lame move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRmV-2dIdcM

Posted by Keith-Lemon on 2011-09-19 10:58:27

Link fail :(

Posted by Overhamsteren on 2011-09-19 11:02:29

Well this one still works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRmV-2dIdcM

Posted by koadah on 2011-09-19 11:58:06

Wow morehouse. I thought you were a boxing fan.

I don't really see how that is good for boxing.

I'm all for fouling & stalling but not at all for for that sleazy scumbag.

Posted by harvestmouse on 2011-09-19 12:35:35

Well it isn't ok, as this is professional sport. It doesn't matter when the public are unaware of the little tricks in and out of the ring, that's business or if you aren't being paid to perform, then you're free to do what you need to do (within the rules).

However this isn't amateur boxing, and alongside the written rules, I suspect there are a lot of unwritten ones; like in all well developed pro sports. In this situation Mayweather has in the heat of battle gone for the short term gain for the long term loss.

The publicity he generates is the income he earns, and this can only have a negative effect.

With professional sports you have to work with everyone around you to produce the best package/performance that is possible. Here he hasn't done that, and probably feels some regret to the disregard to his employer and work colleagues.

Posted by pythrr on 2011-09-19 13:07:50

"long term loss"? everyone already hates Mayweather, so he won't care. Just good PR for him, as he plays a villain in any case.

suffice to say, everyone knows that the #1 rule in boxing - which fighters are reminded of by the ref every bout - is "protect yourself at all times". There will be a lot of people secretly admiring Mayweather for this.

Posted by KenThis on 2011-09-19 13:53:54

just a second.
i know nothing about boxing. but where are all the naysayers complaining about ortiz headbutting mayweather. in my view thats 100 times worse. mayweather was the quicker man both mentally and physically.
also i think he has a point about that commentator who is only there to cause extra controversy.
if i was mayweather i'd be laughing all the way to the bank.
and if i was ortiz i'd be supremely embarassed by my rookie mistake.

Posted by koadah on 2011-09-19 13:55:54

The loss isn't for Mayweather it's for boxing generally.

First the guy hit's him with a deliberate head butt. No disqualification?

The ref then appears to tell them to fight but turns his back on then to talk to people at ringside.

They pretend to hug and Mayweather chins him.

Used to be a boxing fan but this isn't going to encourage me to watch it again.

Posted by Reisender on 2011-09-19 15:01:43

haha nice one.

(to roughly quote HS i prefer sports that are real like wrestling and not fake like boxing.)

However this makes me think more of chatting nicely and a lot with your opponent until you can timeout than of fouling, stalling etc.

Posted by SeraphimRed on 2011-09-19 20:37:17

Right or wrong it was a poor end to a fight that many had paid for.

Posted by Qaz on 2011-09-19 23:52:21

Not going to comment on the headbutt.
but some one saying the sucker punch was like fouling and stalling.
Its not like fouling and stalling. Its like some one saying hold on the phone is ringing and then say np. Just to time them out later that round for going over 4 mins. Thats what happened here. Its legal and all.

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-20 00:51:33

Wow kinda got a lot of responses here so I will try to respond to everybody...

1. Kodah: This is great for boxing because it has a ton of people talking about boxing. It was the top story on CNN, something that is almost never seen for a sports story. In the history of the sport, who are the "great" names? Jack Johnson, Muhammed Ali, Mike Tyson, etc. What do they have in common? Great fighters who were even better at stirring up controversy. Do a lot of fans hate what Mayweather did? Sure. But hatred doesn't make people stop watching, indifference does. A guy people hate will draw 10x the ratings of a nice guy that is boring, maybe unfortunate but thats the way it works.

2. harvestmouse: I strongly disagree and would argue that in a professional sport your duty to your fans and supporters is to do everything in your power to win, not make friends with the opponent. Say your favorite soccer team is playing, and an opponent looks away from the action to the ref to complain about a foul. Should your team stop and wait for him to get ready or take advantage of his mistake? The answer is obvious. The difference is boxing is a much less forgiving sport and when you make a mistake and lose concentration you don't give up a goal, but your consciousness.

3. Kenthis: 100% agree Ken. What Ortiz did was sneaky and outside of the rules. What Floyd did was sneaky and within the rules. There is no obligation for a fighter to sit and wait for their opponent to get ready, there is an obligation to not throw headbutts.

4. Qaz: Sure it is a sucker punch in the sense of hitting a man who isn't ready, but if you are in the middle of a prizefight and you aren't ready, who is the sucker? To go on your analogy, if someone told you to stop moving during your turn and then timed you out, you are an absolute fool for believing them and I say you get what you deserve.

Posted by Cevap on 2011-09-20 01:16:45

Boy I sure like all this Blood Bowl analogies :P

Posted by harvestmouse on 2011-09-20 02:55:17

2. Well as a professional athlete you may say your duty is to your fans and supporters, but this simply isn't the case. This may not necessarily be in conflict, however your duty (staying within the rules) is to where the money comes from. Be that the promoter, manager, nike or the people who paid to watch that fight and generally came away feeling a bit cheated.

I wouldn't say what he did was disasterous to his marketability, however it certainly wasn't positive. Be it for his future or boxing. Promoters certainly wouldn't be happy with early finishes, where punters felt cheated. Nike wouldn't be happy at sponsoring someone who may harm their image and the punters who paid to watch the fight who didn't want to see him win or were not biaised either way, mostly wouldn't be happy either. I'm not really fussed about it to be honest, howere if I paid to watch it, I wouldn't be happy.

Being professional is a difficult thing. It also means you have to act professional, and I don't think he did that.

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-20 04:39:36

Harvest, I would honestly bet his next fight makes even more money because of this controversy.

Posted by Rooke on 2011-09-20 06:30:48

I'm hoping his next fight makes more money because he (finally) grows a pair and fights Pac-man.

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-20 07:22:16

They have both publicly set and agreed to terms, if Manny wins this fall it should happen.

Posted by koadah on 2011-09-20 09:01:28

@morehouse: Mayweather and his opponent/promoters might make more money if he fights Pacman but I wouldn't watch him fight anyone else.

It doesn't encourage me to watch any other boxing match.

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-20 11:31:19

Here is my piece about the fight if anyone is interested...

http://theboxingtribune.com/2011/09/the-new-baddest-man-on-the-planet-floyd-mayweather/

Posted by soranos on 2011-09-21 01:05:00

diappointing ending, but it looked like Ortiz was looking for a way out anyways, that is why he started the butting. He knew that the KO was probably coming anyway (and if not, he would have been outclassed for 12 rounds). Now he at least has an excuse for the loss.

Not only did he not complain afterwards, he was even smiling like he won a freaking lottery. He was damn happy to be out of there.

Between this one, Haye constantly flopping all over the placelike Felipe Inzaghi in his haydays (on top of complaining to the ref about being hit in the face and crying about his little toe) and Vitali having like no problem at all with Adamek, these have been some disappointing month of boxing.

Still looking forward to:

Cunningham-Hernandez
Hopkins-Dawson
Froch-Ward
Pacquiao-Marquez

all have the potential to be really good fights.

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-21 01:55:32

Agreed on the upcoming fights particularly the last 2. I like Cunningham, Hopkins, Ward and Pacquiao (though I do think Marquez can make it a close fight again)

Posted by soranos on 2011-09-21 18:07:56

I agree with your picks apart from Hopkins.
With Dawson you never know, but if he comes in motivated, I don't see how Hopkins can overcome his speed, reach and activity at this stage of his career.

Posted by erased000019 on 2011-09-22 00:47:40

I can definitely see why Dawson is a slight favorite, and why somebody would pick him. However I think Dawson's biggest weakness is mental strength. He seems to lose focus at times and lay off the gas and doing that same thing destroyed Pascal's chances against Bernard. Despite all his physical advantages I think Bernard will be too smart for him and beat him by being the mentally tougher fighter.