Mayweather vs Ortiz: Cheap Shot Aside, Mayweather Won and a Pacquiao Fight Looms

Call him classless, call him a sore winner, but call him the champion.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. predicted a victory over Victor Ortiz, and that the fight wouldn't go the distance. It turns out that Mayweather was right, after his fourth round controversial knock out.

After only three completed rounds, Mayweather appeared to be winning the fight two rounds to one.

Round One was almost too close to call, but many boxing experts gave the slight edge to Mayweather. Both fighters spent the round feeling out their jabs, as Mayweather landed a decent jab and a right. Ortiz charged in with a left, but didn't do much damage.

Round Two looked like it belonged to Ortiz. The 24-year-old appeared to be moving well, and was able to land some punches that may have slightly hurt Mayweather, particularly with the left. But the southpaw was effective in delivering a right to Mayweather's body. Mayweather made the round very close by landing an effective right, and by making Ortiz miss. Compubox numbers, overall, favored Mayweather.

Round Three seemed decidedly in favor of Mayweather. Pretty boy used a jab effectively, and also hit Ortiz with two lefts in a row in the early part of the round. Ortiz seemed to be walking into punches, and a solid right by Mayweather certainly hurt the champion. Meanwhile, Ortiz couldn't find openings due to Mayweather's effective defense.

Round Four was the decisive and controversial round. Mayweather got in a major combo that seemed to have hurt Ortiz. However, Ortiz retaliated by going on a barrage of punches that put Mayweather on the ropes. Mayweather showboated that the punches didn't do much damage to him. Ortiz continued after Mayweather, and landed a double combo that probably hurt Mayweather.

Then, the fight took an ugly turn. Ortiz pulled back and lunged forward, head first, into Mayweather. The crowd saw this, and so did referee Joe Cortez. Mayweather looked upset, and Ortiz either mocked Mayweather or was sincere in his apology as he kissed Mayweather on the cheeck. Mayweather didn't look pleased, and Cortez brought the fighters back together after deducting a point from Ortiz.

With Cortez looking off a bit to the side, Mayweather and Ortiz touched gloves. Almost immediately after they touched Ortiz dropped his gloves while Mayweather threw a left cross that landed flush on Ortiz's cheek. Ortiz didn't lift his hands after his head turn, and then Mayweather delivered a sharp right that dropped Ortiz to the mat. It didn't seem that Ortiz had even the smallest interest in trying to get up, but at the seven-count he almost looked like he planned on standing, but Cortez ultimately counted him out.

Sportsmanship was not at a high in the fourth round, to say the least.

However, it was Ortiz who made the calculated effort to headbutt Mayweather, and Ortiz certainly lost the third round. There was a good chance he would have lost the fourth after having a point deducted and by the way Mayweather appeared to have recuperate from Ortiz's hardest blows.

Mayweather took home Ortiz's WBC welterweight champion belt and remains perfect at 42-0.

This was not the fight many wanted to see, but it appears that the fighter who deserved to win, did in fact get the victory. Mayweather looked like the fighter who dominated boxers like Ricky Hatton by making Ortiz miss, and by delivering clean shots.

However, it's tough to guess how the rest of the fight would have played out. Had the two boxers had at least a few more rounds to showcase their skills, it's possible Ortiz could have made a better showing, or Mayweather could have won the fight under better circumstances.

There are calls for a rematch, but there shouldn't be. Mayweather, despite his faults and winning on a technicality, is the winner, and must now look forward to a stronger challenger, and that doesn't mean taking on Amir Khan, a speedy and charismatic British fighter. No, Mayweather knows exactly who his next opponent should be.

The fight everyone wants is a Floyd Mayweather - Manny Pacquiao matchup, which would make both fighters extremely rich, and whet the appetite of every boxing purist alive.

It's time to move on from the Ortiz fight, and give the fans what they really want.

Bigger and better await.