An image of Floyd Mayweather invading his opponent’s nose at a press conference from one of his fights is not photoshopped.
The 2011 snap of Mayweather and former world champion Victor Ortiz resurfaced over Valentine’s Day. A fan posted the image as it looked like Mayweather had wrapped his lips around Ortiz’s nostrils.
WBN can reveal this wasn’t the case, despite the photograph taken by Getty Images seeming to state otherwise. Upon being shown the image, Ortiz’s trainer, Robert Garcia, is quoted by one publication as questioning Mayweather’s intentions despite the coach admitting he saw nothing.
Garcia didn’t see anything, as the ‘kiss’ never happened. Floyd was merely getting close to Ortiz as the pair traded vicious words. The camera snapped precisely to capture what Mayweather’s right-hand man Leonard Ellerbe called ‘a weird-looking picture.’
“The angle is kind of bad. He’s not biting his nose. No. Somebody didn’t crop that picture right.” They probably didn’t snap it right. He didn’t bite him or attempt to try to bite him. For what? But it is a weird-looking picture,” stated Ellerbe.
Floyd Mayweather presser image causes a stir
In discussions with an unnamed media outlet, Garcia made stark comments after the incident.
“I didn’t see that at first. I just thought that they were close. But I don’t know why he would do something like that [he didn’t]. Use the gloves, man, use the gloves.”
Feliz día de San Valentín para todos. pic.twitter.com/XtvFouDBgI
— Don Narices Rotas (@Naricesrotas) February 14, 2024
The photograph was just one portion of a bad-blooded showdown between the pair in September 2011. Mayweather challenged Ortiz in his comeback fight after announcing his retirement after beating Shane Mosley in May 2010.
After the triumph, Mayweather severed ties with HBO and took time out before accepting a lucrative six-fight contract with Showtime. Ortiz was the first victim of a run that included Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, a young Canelo Alvarez, and two fights with Marcos Maidana.
After the presser, Ortiz was furious following the verbal barbs.
“I was going to smack him,” Ortiz said. “I was going to lay him out. He said something I didn’t like. If he’s overlooking me, he’s got a problem. He’s got to fight me first, and I was born for this moment.
“Mayweather’s speed and his style do not worry me. I’ll be ready for whatever style he wants to bring.”
Ortiz headbutted Mayweather in the fourth round, leading to a sucker punch by Mayweather that got counted as legal by referee Joe Cortez. Mayweather got a knockout victory for the act. It was the pound-for-pound king’s first stoppage in four years. It would be the last of his professional career.
A 2017 win over Conor McGregor should have been marked as an exhibition.
Victor Ortiz knockout
Mayweather had prophesized the KO before they fought.
“Everybody said they were over the hill when I beat Marquez and Mosley. So now I’m fighting someone younger than me. Now, if you give me a strong, young fighter who comes to fight and isn’t going to try to survive, like Ricky Hatton, I’ll give the fans a good fight, and believe me, he’ll get knocked out like Ricky did.”
Once the dust settled on the fight, Ortiz explained his decision to headbutt Mayweather.
“I headbutted him, but only because I told Cortez twice. He used the elbow on my eyebrow. I said, ‘Cortez! Elbow, elbow!’ he says, ‘Fight out of it! And then Mayweather smiled at me, so I was like, ‘Alright. Boom!'”
“I got deducted for the point. Nothing happened to him from the headbutt. It would’ve headbutted something else if I would’ve gashed him open.”
“He hit me, and then I looked at Cortez like, ‘Yo, dude, what’s going on? – I don’t feel like he’s worthy of the championship or even carrying the name of a champion unless he gives me the rematch.”
On the first bout’s evidence, Mayweather vs Ortiz was an episode in time that didn’t need a second helping.
