Floyd Mayweather JR Speaks: VICTOR ORTIZ & MANNY PACQUIAO on Radar

By Sean Farrell

Floyd Mayweather JR. made an appearance on ESPN to speak on his upcoming return against Victor Ortiz…Only one problem, no one cared so he cleared up the air surrounding facing Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather when addressed about calling Pacquiao a cheater had the following to say “I’ve never said that Manny Pacquiao was taking steroids, I never said he was taking enhancement drugs, I want to fight the best they got out there, not just him, the best they got out there, and if he’s on the list as one of the best guys, then absolutely.”

Mayweather said he’s willing to fight Pacquiao only if there is random blood and urine testing, which is more stringent than the current testing standards used by most state athletic associations. Mayweather said Pacquiao’s team would only agree to blood and urine testing at certain times which left everyone guessing. “It’s not just Pacquiao, it’s sports, period,” Mayweather said. “If you look at sports in the Olympics, they’re cheating. Everyone is cheating. And I never once said Manny Pacquiao was cheating, only thing I said was this: Me and any other opponent I face must take the test.”

I for one believe Pacquiao is hiding something but that isn’t the point of this piece. My point falls to Victor Ortiz, the man no one seems to care about or have any regards to wonder how he feels about all this.

Ortiz is worthy of Mayweather, he has all the tools to beat Floyd and with ring rust playing a factor, a decent puncher’s chance of scoring a big punch. Ortiz has looked impressive every step of the way and looks to be able to give Floyd problems if he can get off against the speedier Mayweather.

So how does Ortiz feel about all this Mayweather-Pacquiao talk? Well he said “I’m supposed to be a piece of nothing, I’m not supposed to be here, according to the statistics,” which he is right, Ortiz’s parents abandoned him when he was young, forcing him and his five siblings to live in foster care. But, as a product of his enviroment he refused to settle and here is now. He went on to say “I’m tired of, ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that. I realize he’s a great fighter, but since I was 9 years old, I always said I’d fight Mayweather one day as champion of the world, and check it out, it’s crazy.”

Ortiz said he had asked for permission to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao after his most recent win over Andre Berto. Even though he heard all the negative statements, including some from those within his own promotion saying “He was overmatched” or “out of his mind”, Ortiz wanted to fight the best in the world, and depending who you ask, may have achieved that by getting this fight with Floyd Mayweather JR.

People writing off Ortiz already? Don’t be so sure as Ortiz is a right-hander who nevertheless chooses to fight as a southpaw. Ortiz has stated before, “I’m naturally right-handed. Everything I do is right-handed. My power is just built on my left hand, somehow. Fighting left-handed was just more comfortable for me. I was just a better boxer that way. My defense was better; I didn’t get hit as much. I just developed myself into a left-hander. I don’t even like to switch to right-handed.” that being said, southpaws give Floyd fits in the ring but all we can do is wait and see.

As for Mayweather’s plan to fight Manny Pacquiao? Well that can’t be discussed yet, because according to Ortiz “There’s only one problem, I’m fighting Pacquiao next.”