When it comes to boxing, you can’t realistically argue that Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters. In fact, with a record of 42-0 with 26 Kos, many believe he’s one of the best in history. But when it comes to Mayweather as a person there are all types of opinions. And after his cheap-shot knockout win over WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 Kos) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, the majority of fans feel he’s nothing more than a street punk.

After watching Mayweather’s act for the past few years it’s not a bad conclusion to come to. His infamous battles with the law and his own family on the HBO show 24/7 give evidence to the type of person he is and now his win over Ortiz and argument in the ring afterwards with ancient announcer Larry Merchant definitely haven’t made him any new fans.

But Mayweather’s not concerned about that. What the public thinks about him is one of the last things on his mind, and sad to say, his bad publicity may just be the shot in the arm that boxing needs these days. You can bet there will be millions of people around the world talking about the Ortiz fight and the Merchant rant days and even weeks after the incidents. Like they say, any publicity is good publicity.

While Mayweather’s actions in the Ortiz fight were unquestionably unsportsmanlike, they weren’t against the rules. Ultimately, Ortiz has nobody to blame but himself for getting knocked out. It was obvious Mayweather didn’t take too kindly to the head butt his opponent launched at him earlier in the fourth round and he made him pay for it by nailing him when he wasn’t expecting it.

Other than another win on his record, Mayweather didn’t gain anything in the fight and could have even lost a good number of fans. With Ortiz’s arms at his side and in a relaxed stance after touching gloves with and apologizing to the new champion for the head butt, he was nothing more than a sitting duck. It didn’t take any bravery, skill or talent to knock him out at that point. Anybody could have decked him if they had landed a clean shot, even Larry Merchant.

Referee Joe Cortez said the shots were legal and according to the laws of the sport, there’s no arguing that point. Even Ortiz seemed to realize this when being interviewed in the ring after the fight. Ortiz didn’t protect himself and paid for it dearly with his title when Mayweather landed a vicious look hook and straight right hand to his head, putting an end to the fight with just one second to go in the fourth round.

The controversy will drag on for months to come and thousands of fans will be hoping Mayweather gets his someday. But that means people have become interested in boxing again, even though it might be for all; the wrong reasons. As for the rest of the fight, the 34-year old Mayweather look like he hasn’t lost a beat in the 16 months he was out of the ring.

Ortiz had some good moments, especially in the fourth round when he had Mayweather pinned in the corner, but then blew whatever momentum he had gained by trying to butt his opponent. A rematch could prove to be interesting. However, Ortiz if they do fight again, Ortiz may want to watch the 24/7 show a lot more closely to realize just what type of person Mayweather really is.

I’m not sure undefeated Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOS) will meet his match when he takes on WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz (29-2-1, 22 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, but Ortiz has as much chance as anybody at handing Mayweather his first loss.

It’ll be Mayweather’s first fight since beating Shane Mosley by a one-sided unanimous decision last year and Ortiz’s second as a welterweight after beating Andre Berto for the title by a close unanimous decision in April. With an endless string of court dates coming up, the 34-year-old Mayweather may be more interested in the money he’ll make in the pay-per-view fight than he is in keeping his record intact.

But most boxing experts figure he shouldn’t have a problem with Ortiz and might endear himself to boxing fans around the world by taking on a young, tough slugger. Ortiz doesn’t have anything to lose really. If he enters the ring with the right attitude and lets his fists fly from the opening bell we could be in for a decent fight.

Ortiz has been involved in some exciting slugfests over the past few years and that means he isn’t the hardest target to hit. He’s shown a lot of determination and heart in most of his bouts, but has been sent to the canvas on several occasions. He’s going to have to absorb some punishment against Mayweather and if he can stay on his feet he has a puncher’s chance of winning. He’s not going to outbox Mayweather and would have to drop him a few times if he has any hope of taking a points decision.

This more or less leaves one option for the 24-year-old, which is to knock Mayweather out. He should take some confidence into the ring with him considering that Mosley rocked Mayweather in the second round of their fight last year and had him hurt. Ortiz is probably a harder puncher than Mosley and he won’t let him off the hook if he hurts him. But the problem for Ortiz could be landing a clean, solid blow.

Ortiz will go into the fight as the underdog, but it won’t bother him considering he’s had a pretty tough life so far after being abandoned years ago by his parents. However, he did disappoint many fans in 2009 in his loss to Marcos Maidana when he seemingly gave up in the ring. Ortiz and Maidana traded knockdowns in that fight and it looked like it was going to be the fight of the year until Ortiz quit after suffering another knockdown.

He showed a lot of heart and determination when beating Berto for the title in his first bout as a welterweight and picked himself up from the canvas twice to do so. He also dropped Berto a few times along the way and that’s what makes Ortiz so exciting. He’s always in every fight because he has the power to turn them around with a single shot.

Mayweather has a lot more experience in big fights and he’s a natural welterweight, but once the bell rings those advantages should be thrown out the window unless Ortiz freezes like a deer in the headlights. Ortiz’s southpaw stance could give Mayweather some trouble and he’s young, fast, and strong. But his chin is still pretty questionable. If Mayweather catches him with one of his powerful left hooks it could be lights out.

As much as I’d love to see Ortiz hand Mayweather his first loss, I think he’s going to eventually get caught and will be stopped in the second half of the fight.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will be entering the ring later in 2011, but it won’t be against each other. The undefeated Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) recently announced on Twitter that he’s going to be taking on  WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) on Sept. 17, which is Mexican Independence Day weekend.

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) on the other hand, will be taking on Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs) for the third time when they meet Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They fought to a 12-round draw back in 2008 with Pacquiao winning the rematch by split decision.

The fight everybody wants to see of course is Mayweather vs Pacquiao, but while it’s not happening this year, Mayweather’s bout against Ortiz could be a stepping stone to a bout against the Filipino in the near future. Before Mayweather fights anybody though, he needs to get a license and make sure he stays out of trouble with the law between now and September.

Ortiz poses a threat to Mayweather because of his never-say-die attitude, which he’s shown in fights against Marcos Maidana and his recent victory over Andre Berto, when he hit the deck and got back to his feet in both battles. Ortiz is young and strong and has a good mental outlook on the fight game. Mayweather will be entering the ring after sitting out for about a year and a half.

It’s a competitive fight that features one of boxing’s veteran stars taking on a rising star. Mayweather complimented Ortiz in the press by saying he has a lot of talent, skills, and heart and that’s what he’s looking for in an opponent to challenge himself.

The last time he entered the ring, which was in May 2010; Mayweather took apart Sugar Shane Mosley in a rather one-sided affair and earned a unanimous decision. However, Mosley rocked him hard in the second round, but failed to follow up on it. Ortiz has won his last six fights, with his last one being the exciting decision over Berto back in mid-April.

There are a lot of fans getting on Mayweather’s case for taking this fight, not because it’s not a good matchup, but because they say he’s ducking Pacquiao again. That may be true, but at this stage, Ortiz may actually be more dangerous than Pacquiao due to his determination and power. Considering some of the opponents that Mayweather was recently thinking about fighting, this matchup isn’t bad at all.

Mayweather getting back into the ring should also be considered good for boxing as it means one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters hasn’t packed it in. Ortiz is young and hungry and will go in as the underdog, but if he does get beat he’ll at least go down fighting. Mayweather could also use this as a tuneup for a possible showdown with Pacquiao as there’s no way he’s going to take him on after such a long layoff.

It’s an intriguing matchup that’s for sure. However, Ortiz’s only realistic chance of beating Mayweather is by knockout or at least dropping him a couple of times to earn some points on the scorecards. While Mayweather vs Ortiz it may not be the fight everybody was hoping for, it’s probably the next best thing.

If you’re asked to name the most exciting American boxer in the world right now you might struggle for a minute before coming up with the name of Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 Kos). From his recent performances in the ring there’s not really anybody else who comes close. The Devon Alexander vs Timothy Bradley bout was between two of the nation’s top boxers, but was a monumental bust. And long gone are the days of Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Boom Boom Mancini, and even Mike Tyson.

Let’s face it, what was once an American-dominated sport has been taken over by fighters from other parts of the boxing world, such as Mexico, Asia, and Russia. Nobody’s accusing Ortiz of being the best boxer north of the 49^th parallel, but I can’t think of any other that’s as exciting. Roy Jones is past his prime, Bernard Hopkins puts fans to sleep, Kelly Pavlik’s in rehab, and James Kirkland just got KO’d in the first round. Mind you, Chad Dawson and Paul Williams usually put on pretty entertaining fights.

Even so, I wouldn’t say Ortiz wins by default. He’s just one of those fighters who go into the ring to knock you out or get knocked out and so far he’s managed to do both in spectacular fights with Marcos Maidana and Andre Berto. His fight with Berto (27-1, 21 Kos) was obviously his most impressive since he beat an undefeated champion in his very first bout at welterweight. But Ortiz seemed to be possessed that night and the look in his eyes told the story.

It just appeared he was so determined and there was nothing in the world that could stop him from accomplishing his goal of taking the WBC title away from Berto. Arturo Gatti made a living out of engaging in slugfests throughout his career and it looks like Ortiz could follow in his footsteps.

And just like Gatti, the 24-year-old southpaw Ortiz puts up quite a fight when he loses too. The bout against Maidana back in June 2009 was a mini-classic. It was six rounds of war with Maidana finding himself on the deck once in the first round and twice in the second. Ortiz was also dropped in the first and eventually stopped by the Argentinean in the sixth.

Ortiz then won four fights in a row. Only two were by knockout, but he dropped his opponents in the other two bouts. The winning streak ended when he fought to a 10-round draw with Lamont Peterson despite dropping him twice in the third round.

Against Berto, Ortiz dropped him in the first and sixth rounds and was on the deck himself in the second and sixth. It looked like Ortiz was out of it in the sixth after Berto nailed him with a wicked right hand. But not only did he get up, he then sent Berto crashing to the canvas before the round ended. Ortiz won the title on a unanimous decision even though he had a point deducted for hitting behind the head in the 10^th round.

While Ortiz can certainly thrill the fans with his heart and style, he’s going to take a lot of punishment during fights. This means he’s probably not going to enjoy a long career. The best thing for him to do is take on the best there is in the welterweight division and make as much money as he can. Win or lose, the fans will pay to watch him fight as long as he keeps entertaining them they way he’s been doing so far.