Mayweather vs Ortiz: The Aftermath of 2011's Most Controversial Fight

I know things have been moving incredibly fast this weekend, so I thought I'd put together this post in case anyone missed anything. Our full coverage of the fight, dating back to the June 7 fight announcement, is available on the Mayweather vs Ortiz event page. Event pages can always be accessed via our schedule page.

The Controversy

• Immediate post-fight reaction found me a bit stupefied by what I'd just witnessed.
• Before watching a replay, I figured this was a huge rematch in the making. That may or may not still be true.
• Upon further review, it was clear that the knockout blows were 100% legal. Not sportsmanlike (or whatever), but legal.
• Could Victor Ortiz have won the fight had it gone further? Chances weren't good.
• Manny Pacquiao weighed in, saying that the knockout was perfectly legal, but that he didn't care for Mayweather's choice to take advantage. Bob Arum said he was "disgusted," and that Pacquiao would never do something like that, continuing the greatest rivalry that may never see the inside of a ring. And Oscar De La Hoya said he'd push for a rematch, and he, too, bemoaned Mayweather's lack of sportsmanship.
• Post-fight press conference videos: Floyd Mayweather Jr spouts cliches, and Victor Ortiz continues being one of the weirdest dudes in boxing, including a continued attempt to convince people that his headbutt was anything other than malicious.
• Joe Cortez says Ortiz lost his cool, and puts the blame on "Vicious" Victor, without taking any blame himself. Cortez, of course, has been heavily criticized for losing control of the fight.

Mayweather vs Merchant

• A full transcript of their post-fight interview, and a discussion of who was right and who was wrong.
• Merchant calls Mayweather "a prima donna" and a control freak when stalked by TMZ.

The Undercard

• Erik Morales became the first Mexican fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, and deserves to be called champion no matter what you think of the belt he picked up Saturday.
• Saul "Canelo" Alvarez got tested a bit by Alfonso Gomez, but says he was happy with his performance in the fight.
• All six undercard fighters put in strong performances on the show, overshadowed by the main event. But we felt it necessary to applaud their efforts, because they gave us, as Mayweather might put it, a helluva show.

What's Next?

• Floyd Mayweather Jr's options: A rematch with Ortiz, Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao, or maybe Sergio Martinez as a wild card.
• Victor Ortiz's options: A rematch with Mayweather, or a rematch with Andre Berto?
• Roger Mayweather says it won't be Mayweather vs Pacquiao next.