A little under two weeks ago, at least 1.3 million households witnessed Floyd Mayweather defeat Victor Ortiz via knockout in the fourth round of a highly debated, supposedly controversial, victory. If you've been hiding under a rock, Victor Ortiz intentionally head-butted Floyd Mayweather, halting the action as referee Joe Cortez deducted a point from the then champion. As Ortiz profusely apologized with hugs and kisses (literally), Mayweather geared himself to fight, as instructed by Cortez's "Let's Go," motioning the fighters together at the center of the ring. As Ortiz moved in for yet another hug, of which Mayweather obliged, Mayweather hit Ortiz with a left-right combination (or two-piece with a biscuit as Money calls it) while the two separated, retiring Ortiz for the night. Given the performance and the outcome, the question to ponder now is just how bright is the future of Golden Boy's next "Golden Boy"? Well, let's review.
Dating back to October 1998, when Floyd Mayweather captured his first title over Genaro Hernandez, the 25 opponents of Floyd have not fared well following defeat. Prior to their bouts with Money Mayweather, opponents entered the ring with an average win percentage of 89.55%. Excluding Emanuel Augustus and Carlos Baldomir, whose win percentages prior to facing Floyd was 52.4% and 74.1% respectively, the opposition's lowest win percentage was 85.1% (Gregorio Vargas) and the highest came with the likes of Ricky Hatton (43-0) and Diego Corrales (33-0).
Following their defeat to Money Mayweather, opponents' win percentages dropped, on average, to a paltry 60.99%. Opponents with at least five fights (stat control) following their defeat to Floyd Mayweather totaled an average win percentage of 64.86% and opponents with at least 10 fights fared worse with an average win percentage of 61.5%.
The long term seems to be a better option for Ortiz, although it's not much to look forward to as far as wins are concerned. Fighters with five fights or less following their defeat to Floyd have a trivial average win percentage of 51.4%.
If the trend persists, Victor may very well lose 1 of his next two contests. Not such a good outlook for Victor and Golden Boy, especially given the connotation that Victor is a quitter. If anyone at Golden Boy is paying attention, prudent matchmaking should be the next order of business for Vicious Victor. It seems the better option for your "cash-cow" or "cash-cow to be" is to keep him away from Floyd Mayweather, รก la Bob Arum. Fans and cash will surely shrink if following a defeat to Floyd Mayweather, possibly a lopsided one; your fighter likely suffers a second defeat within two contests. All promoters take heed. A defeat to Floyd Mayweather drains fighters of their better days. As a competitor, one can only imagine the mental agony experienced by someone who pours their blood, sweat, and tears into training to reach peak form, mentally and physically, only to be outclassed when the bright lights are shining.
Is Victor's future doomed or will he defy the odds?