Key reasons why Victor Ortiz is a dangerous fight for Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Last night my colleague Dennis Guillermo reached out to me with some interesting news, informing me that he had just ran a story about a possible Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz clash in the works. Sure enough, upon waking this morning, Mayweather updated his million-plus Twitter followers with the news that the fight will indeed be pushing through for September 17th.

While this isn't the fight people had been clamoring fight, that being a Mayweather showdown with WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, the contest is intriguing on many fronts. Ortiz is far from a tune up and is coming off of a career-best unanimous decision over Andre Berto a few months back, a fight that saw him snatch the Haitian-American's WBC crown and one in which he had to dig down deep.

Personally I feel that this is far from a walk in the park for the Las Vegas-based Mayweather. Here are my reasons below...

Nothing to lose

Victor Ortiz is in a great position here. He is set to make by far the biggest payday of his career and with people looking at him as somewhat as a 'tune up' before a hopeful Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, he is in the perfect position to surprise people with an inspiring performance.

Ortiz is also entering the prime of his career at 24 years of age and will surely gear himself up for the fight of his life. He's completely different than Floyd's last two opponents, an aging Shane Mosley and a blown-up Juan Manuel Marquez, and he will come into the ring with something to prove.

Putting the demons to rest

It was June 27th, 2009 that Ortiz's career took a major hit when he suffered the first stoppage defeat of his career at the hands of power-punching Marcos Maidana inside of the Staples Center. In a wild fight that saw each man hit the deck multiple times, Ortiz eventually seemed to wilt under his Argentinean foe's pressure and called it a day in the sixth round, with the tag of 'quitter' being thrown his way.

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His April fight with Berto served as his proving grounds to show how far he has come from that defeat and he didn't disappoint, dropping the champion in the first round and controlling the tempo of the fight. Ortiz also survived a blistering knockdown in the sixth round and overall showed serious grit in the trenches.

Whatever notions people had about him after the Maidana fight were completely shattered. Ortiz is a different fighter these days and he has put his demons from that fight to rest.

The definition of a boxer-puncher

Ortiz is an extremely talented guy and the word 'boxer-puncher' instantly pops into my head when I think of him. He has a smooth, polished style but has also shown pockets of explosiveness, as evidenced by his 22 knockouts in 33 fights.

It will also be interesting to see how his southpaw attack bodes with Mayweather, who has been rumored of being leery of lefties for years now. DeMarcus 'Chop Chop' Corley and Zab Judah both appeared to stun Floyd in the early rounds of their respective bouts with him and he will have to be careful with Ortiz in the opening rounds.

Away from the game

By the time Floyd sets foot into the ring he will have been away from a boxing ring as a professional for over sixteen months, dating back to his May 2010 whitewashing of Mosley. At 34 years old, Mayweather is far from a shrinking violet but father time catches up to everyone, especially when you are inactive in the manner he has been.

Floyd has been troubled with domestic and personal issues over the past year and it's hard to get a gauge of where his head is at these days. While taking a fight with Ortiz is a refreshing sign, it is a move that comes with more risk than some would think.

September 17th can't come fast enough.

Source: examiner.com