Unsportsmanship like conduct is not something new and we have all witnessed it in one way or another. Whether it was the steroid scandals in the 90’s and early 2000’s of Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds; Tanya Harding’s assault on Nancy Kerrigan; Tyson’s “Chomp” of Evander Holyfield’s ear; Rosie Ruiz’s victory of the Boston Marathon; or Antonio Margarito’s “plaster-like” wraps under his boxing gloves, these examples of the lack of sportsmanship give their respective sports a black eye and set a horrible example for youth.
Well, on Sept. 17, the sport of boxing received another black eye when Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. defended his number one Pound-for-Pound ranking in boxing against Victor Ortiz. In the 4th round of their fight the referee called time-out to deduct a point from Victor Ortiz for head–butting Floyd.
After the point deduction, the ref called for the resumption of time and the fight. As the ref called time-in, Ortiz reached out to Floyd to shake his hand apologetically and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. As Ortiz pulled back from the hug with his hands down, he looked toward the ref for the queue to resume fighting. Floyd noticed his opponent’s lack of attention and pounced, launching two unanswered blows to Ortiz’s chin and flooring him to the canvas. The ref turned just in time to see the second blow land square on Ortiz’s face, sending him to the canvas.
The ref sent Mayweather to a neutral corner and began counting, signaling a legal knockdown. Ortiz couldn’t recover quick enough to beat the ten-count and lost by TKO. The crowd booed at Floyd’s cheap-shot and the announcers were in shock. Immediately after the fight, Larry Merchant, an HBO commentator, asked Floyd about the cheap–shot and Floyd’s response was: “Once we touch gloves it’s fight time, it’s open season.” Then Mayweather went on to rant about how HBO should fire Larry Merchant because he sucks as a commentator and never gives him a fair interview. Merchant responded the way most boxing fans felt by saying, “I wish I was 50 years younger, then I would kick your ass.”
Floyd’s conduct was unnecessary, to say the least. If you are the best pound–for–pound fighter in the world, why do you feel the need to resort to cheap tactics to win a fight? This controversial win may not rank up there with the mentioned incidents above, but it can’t be shoved under the rug. Unfortunately, nothing can be done by the boxing commission because it was a legal blow and knockdown. So “Money” Mayweather retains his ranking and gets his 70 million dollar paycheck. With that kind of money at stake, anyone would be tempted to win at any cost.
While the allure of money, fame, and recognition remains as a reward for winning, people will continue looking for an edge over the competition whether fair or unfair. Sadly, these are the people many of our youth look up to. Fortunately, we still have stand up athletes that the youth can aspire to be like, i.e. Payton Manning, Andre “S.O.G” Ward, Tim Tebow, Mariano Rivera, and many more. Although there are stand up athletes, we need to remind people, and our youth especially, that although famous and talented, they are but human and make mistakes none–the–less and should not be idolized.
