AS – The first sign that the Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz welterweight title fight this weekend could be a little out of the norm came during the final press conference Wednesday at the MGM Grand. And it wasn't so subtle.
By Ethan Miller, Getty Images
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, is the heavy favorite to claim Victor Ortiz's WBC welterweight title Saturday in Las Vegas.
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By Ethan Miller, Getty Images
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, is the heavy favorite to claim Victor Ortiz's WBC welterweight title Saturday in Las Vegas.
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Mayweather, 34, is one of boxing's true superstars. He's also one of its notorious bad boys, as evidenced by some of his actions on HBO's 24/7: Mayweather vs. Ortiz reality series, not to mention his myriad legal troubles and penchant for gambling and literally burning through money in Sin City, where he lives and trains.
On Wednesday, Mayweather took the high road and, well, played nice. He had complimentary things to say about Ortiz, 24 ("You're an amazing athlete"). He had nice things to say about the media ("even with the long layoff, you guys kept me relevant"), about his fans ("let's give the fans what they want to see"), about the USA ("I'm going to acknowledge the red, white and blue. 9-11, I stand strong for this country) and even about himself during the fight ("I'm going to go in there with class and leave with class").
He remained calm throughout and kept it (mostly) clean.
But Ortiz, who has an amazing back story that could someday be made into a movie, and his trainer, Danny Garcia, came ready to talk some trash.
Garcia accused Mayweather of being a dirty fighter ("we all know how you fight"), and referred to Mayweather's greatness in past tense ("He was one of the best fighters, but now it's our time").
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Asked about Garcia's assessment, Ortiz said: "He uses things he shouldn't use. He uses his elbows, he holds a lot. We've worked hard to prevent any of those issues from interfering. So we're fine."
Then he added: "I'm prepared for the best Mayweather. Or the dirtiest. … I never said he was dirty, but apparently my coaches have some concerns."
Mayweather's answer
