Victor Ortiz claims 'the world wants' a Mayweather rematch

You might remember Victor Ortiz, the fighter once nicknamed "Vicious," a cast member of The Expendables 3, "Dancing with the Stars" contestant, schiller of FaceLube, and second round knockout victim of Luis Collazo. Ortiz, who has won exactly one fight since 2011 and is currently recovering from a wrist injury suffered in a December fight against a no-hoper opponent, wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.

In a self-penned piece at The Players Tribune, Ortiz, 28, says he was in Las Vegas for Mayweather-Pacquiao, but his tickets fell through, so he went to a hotel he can't remember the name of to watch closed circuit with buddies, but then he left because it was so boring. Then, when throngs of fans came up to him and asked him what he thought about the fight, which remember he hadn't seen much of, he said he wasn't impressed.

Ortiz goes on to remark that when he fought Mayweather in 2011 -- the infamous "Sucker Punch KO" -- Mayweather "lost all his respect." Ortiz also says that his coach told him to headbutt Mayweather to respond to Floyd's sixteen (thousand) elbow shots.

I really wasn't going to do it. Then, in the fourth round, Floyd is backing up, getting pressed by me. He doesn't know what the hell to do to me anymore so he elbows me again. And in the heat of the moment, I launched the head butt. At that point, I became human. I felt bad. I don't foul people — ever. Not in 161 matches as a kid, not in 34 as a pro. So I gave Floyd a hug. I apologized. My hands are down, and then Floyd, boom, hits me once. Boom. He hits me again. I go down. I lose the belt.

Ortiz claims to have never fouled anyone, ever, in his entire life or career, amateur or pro, but his first loss in pro boxing back in 2005 came as the result of a foul, when he hit Corey Alarcon with an uppercut while the referee was separating the fighters, and there's no mistaking what he did (go to 0:57):

But Ortiz remembers what he wants to remember, more or less, and his piece about Mayweather owing him a rematch conveniently leaves out that after Mayweather, he was stopped in nine by Josesito Lopez, and knocked out in two against Collazo, a fight where Ortiz seemed to give up as soon as he was hit with a solid punch. Collazo has never been known as a puncher (though it was a good, well-timed shot), and Ortiz just did not respond well at all.

Ortiz also believes he did Mayweather a favor by "allowing" him to fight him for his WBC welterweight title:

What I find unfair is that Floyd gave Marcos Maidana one fight and then a rematch. I didn’t have to give Floyd a chance to fight me when I did, with the belt on the line. I could’ve cherry-picked my opponents but I wanted to take on the so-called pound-for-pound champ.

Mayweather was guaranteed $25 million for that fight, while Ortiz was guaranteed $2 million, so who did who the favor there? Certainly Ortiz deserves credit for taking the chance to fight Mayweather, but it was also a career-high payday for Victor, and he was the B-side without question. Belt or not, that was Mayweather-Ortiz, not Ortiz-Mayweather.

Ortiz further believes that even today, he's what keeps Mayweather up at night:

People that had never seen me fight before remember me as the kid he couldn't stop. I know that's why he went for a dirty knockout. I was too much for him and the only opportunity for him to stop me was when I wasn't expecting him to. ... Floyd can say what he wants about his money but, as a fighter, I know that fight and my face keeps him up at night when the cameras are off.

Ortiz (30-5-2, 23 KO) says that a rematch with Mayweather is what the world wants, but Vicious Victor may not actually be in this world, so who knows?

It's not a bad attempt to bait Mayweather into allowing Ortiz another payday. But there's just no arguing that Ortiz actually deserves it. He's got no quality wins in four years, he's not a relevant contender right now, and the way he lost to Collazo was troubling in terms of his ever being one again. His broken jaw against Lopez from 2012 seems to have done a number on his punch resistance, at least mentally.

But who knows? Ortiz is such an unpredictable character that he might just have another big run in him. It could start this year. It could come out of nowhere when he's 35. He's always been fun to watch, but if he's not able to take solid punches anymore, there's just no point to him fighting, and certainly not against Mayweather.