clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Mayweather vs Ortiz 24/7 Recap, Episode 3: "It's going to be a very, very ugly, bloody walk for Floyd."

Like many before him, Victor Ortiz may not fully comprehend the task ahead of him with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Photo by Daniel Barry/Getty Images)
Like many before him, Victor Ortiz may not fully comprehend the task ahead of him with Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Photo by Daniel Barry/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Anthony Wilson recaps last night's installment of Mayweather vs Ortiz: 24/7.

* * * * *

Bad Left Hook reader pakinpower contributed an excellent remark to the comments section of last week's recap, when he chimed in on the unfunny segment in which Floyd Mayweather Jr. and friend 50 Cent pretended to have a phone conversation using stacks of money:

"Floyd's whole persona was telegraphed if not created by this format so I also am assuming that HBO is just dancing with the girl that they brought to the dance. It's not as if Floyd has so much to really say. It's more like the platform exists so he is just filling it up with as much of his BS as they allow him space."

Exactly.

In episode 3 of the Mayweather/Ortiz installment of "24/7," practically every facet of the Junior modus operandi (or at least of the character he plays on the show, and in public in general) is on display.

He attacks his opponent, scoffing at the storyline that has carried Victor Ortiz' side of the production: the abandoning of Ortiz (and his younger brother, Temo) by both of his parents.

"Black parents leave all the time. Every Black you know raised theyself," he cracks. "Man, get the f--- out of here, you f-----‘ punk."

He mocks a scene from the last episode where Ortiz receives a back massage from another man. He ridicules his adversary, and Ortiz' mentor, Oscar De La Hoya.

"De La Hoya a ho, flat out," he begins. "He gay, he a ho. Victor Ortiz a ho, too. He let a man massage him, then the other one wearing fishnet. And he looks at him look a God? Are you f------ serious? Tell me what's going on? What the f--- is really going on?"

He looks at luxury cars. He already owned 14 of them, valued at $4 million, and on this day he trades in a Bentley for a Rolls Royce, paying the difference in straight cash.

"All white, that's right," he says. "Money May, don't play."

Singer and friend Ray-J performs a "concert" in the Mayweather living room.

Mayweather shows his appreciative side, chatting with US armed forces (Task Force Duke, to be exact) stationed in Afghanistan, but turns even that into a gimmick when he carries his laptop around with him while giving them a tour of his illustrious Big Boy Mansion.

Finally, he is introspective, and fully earnest, during a spin in his new Rolls. "My thought on life is, I don't worry about what no one says, because at the end of the day I have to be happy," he remarks.

He thanks his fans for the role they have played in his success. He counts both those who pay to see him win and those who pay to see him lose amongst this group, because "they're all paying."

75% hijinks, 25% earnest thoughts. That's 24/7 Mayweather, in a nutshell.

In California, Ortiz' trainer, Danny Garcia, studies film of Mayweather's December 2007 fight with Ricky Hatton. In the gym, Ortiz works out with three sparring partners, all of whom do their best to try and imitate Mayweather. Shane Mosley shunned this method in preparation for his date with Mayweather, opting instead to just focus on being the best Mosley he could be. That didn't work, and I don't think Ortiz' method will work, either.

Like so many before him, I don't think he fully underestands the difficulty of the task in front of him. Seemingly all of Mayweather's opponents failed to truly comprehend how good and thorough of a puzzle he was to solve until they were actually in the ring with him. Floyd talked about it during their Face-Off with Max Kellerman. "I tell every fighter this: it looks different on the outside," he said.

Despite the futility Mayweather's opponents consistently experience when facing him, potential foes watch from a distance and still come away not quite getting it. Perhaps part of this comes from the confidence all fighters have in their ability; perhaps it has to do with openings they perceive in his defense; perhaps it's pure ignorance (which I definitely think has something to do with it).

Whatever it is, they always find him to be more harrowing up close and personal. They come in confident in what they can do, what they will do, only to find out that, like all of the others, that they can't seem to do anything.

"He can hit me, and I can't hit him," they must think. "He's in complete control of the action and I am clueless as how to respond."

I don't think Camp Ortiz has any idea just what they're in for.

"24/7" is known for its chilling episode endings, and Saturday night we saw the first such closing of this mini-season. As clips of Mayweather and Ortiz hard at work form a montage on the screen, the scene takes a serious tone. The fight is less than one week away.

"Floyd thinks he's gonna walk in the park," Ortiz states. "It's going to be a very, very ugly, bloody walk for him."

Mayweather is self-assured, as always. To him, his unblemished track record is the proof in the pudding.

"Everybody saying that Floyd has problems with southpaws," he says. "Everyone that they put in front of me, I beat."

He reminds us once again of his longevity.

"I said before, I'm gonna be the last guy standing," Mayweather says. "I'm still standing. I'm still going strong."

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Bad Left Hook Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of all your global boxing news from Bad Left Hook