Floyd Mayweather‘s last knockout win against a legitimate opponent came against Victor Ortiz back in 2011, but despite suffering the stoppage defeat, the man known as ‘Vicious’ says he once fought a much better rival.
It was a highly contentious moment when Mayweather knocked out Ortiz in their WBC welterweight title clash over a decade ago, with the fourth round of their contest proving to be full of drama.
Ortiz was throwing combinations against Mayweather on the ropes, but then got reckless and led with the head, prompting the referee to deduct a point.
With Ortiz not paying attention as the bout was set to resume, Mayweather landed a big shot that knocked down and subsequently knocked out his rival, adding to the old adage of protecting yourself at all times.
Mayweather is undoubtedly the biggest name that Ortiz ever took on, but while the boxing legend may be regarded as one of the best of all time, Ortiz has told TalkSport that Andre Berto was better.
“He (Mayweather) is not the best opponent I’ve faced. Hands down not. The best opponent that I faced was Andre Berto; he was much better. Andre Berto is a top pound-for-pound king. He put me down, I put him down, he got up, he put me down again.
“This man showed everything: quality, heart, skill. You name it, he’s got it. Someone like Floyd, he’s got what? a counter, running? That year, I bought him some sprinting strikes at the press conference. My brother got him a box of tampons, too.
“But Andre Berto is special. I have the utmost respect for him. He’s got power in both hands; he’s the whole package. Someone with Floyd can’t compete with that.”
Ortiz had beaten Berto to win the WBC welterweight title in the fight prior to his clash with Mayweather, in what would be the first defeat of Berto’s professional career.
Berto’s final record stood at 32 wins and 6 defeats, and he suffered a one-sided defeat to Mayweather himself when they met in September 2015.
Mayweather competed just once more after the fight with Berto, when he knocked out MMA fighter Conor McGregor in August 2017, though he is set to return to action against former foe Manny Pacquiao in September provided that current issues can be resolved.
