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Home » Victor Ortiz ordered to head-butt Floyd Mayweather – paid for it

Victor Ortiz ordered to head-butt Floyd Mayweather – paid for it

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  • 3 min read

Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz shared the ring in a controversial headliner on Showtime.

The third man in the ring has since revealed that Mayweather was so good trainers opposing him told Ortiz, a world champion fighter at that time, to use head-butt tactics in a Pay Per View fight.

In September 2011, Victor Ortiz held the WBC welterweight title following an exciting victory over Andre Berto the previous April.

Floyd Mayweather

‘Vicious’ Victor was plucked out of the chasing pack for a high-profile collision with Mayweather.

The match-up was Mayweather’s return from a seventeen-month ‘retirement’ just before the pound-for-pound king signed a lucrative six-fight deal with Showtime.

Ortiz wasn’t in Mayweather’s league from the first bell, and dirty moves began evolving over the first few rounds.

In the fourth, Ortiz was penalized for a head-butt by referee Joe ‘I’m firm, but I’m fair’ Cortez, who then witnessed one of the weirdest endings to a Mayweather fight.

As Ortiz tried to apologize to Mayweather for the foul, ‘Money’ let him have it with a huge shot, and the champion never made the count.

Hailed the new ruler at 147, the victory was never questioned by officials despite fans seeing obvious wrongdoing on both sides.

Joe Cortez on Victor Ortiz

Speaking to the AHAT YouTube channel, Cortez outlined the strangest fights he’s taken charge of during his career. Immediately, the Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz clash came to mind.

“Well, I know everybody is thinking about Victor Ortiz vs. Floyd Mayweather. The one where Victor Ortiz head-butted Mayweather,” said Cortez.

“I cut about two points for him. He hugged him and said: ‘I’m sorry.’ Then he kissed him one time. He said: ‘I’m sorry.’ Then he kissed him and hugged him the second time.

“I said, ‘alright, two points deducted’ to the judges. I then called time with the timekeeper. And he again went to touch gloves with Floyd Mayweather.

“Floyd Mayweather saw that I gave time in. He said: ‘hell no.’ He hit him with a left. Then he hit him with a right. He knocked him out,” he explained.

Cortez then revealed that Ortiz made an admission years later of discussions with his team before facing Mayweather.

“Every time I see him, he (Ortiz) says, ‘Joe man, I apologize on that.’ I’m like, ‘forget about it, brother.’

“He said: ‘my trainers told me to head-butt Mayweather. I got rid of all those guys.’ Then he said: ‘I never dealt with those guys again.’

“He said, ‘They got me in trouble that night. It’s not your fault, Joe. It’s my own fault, and they told me to use that dirty tactic, and you know.”

Ortiz KO

On his decision to let the finish go, Cortez concluded: “I could have done something a little different.

“I could have kept them apart further. Maybe I could have gotten right between them, had them touch gloves. I could have little things a little different, you know.”

WBN would like to wish Joe a speedy and complete recovery.

WBN Editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.