In Returning Against Victor Ortiz, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Trumps Manny Pacquiao For Once

(Floyd Mayweather, getting booed while attending Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto)

Big news today. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. will be back Sept. 17, although it won?t be against Manny Pacquiao, which makes it inherently disappointing; it means the Super Bowl of boxing still isn?t happening. But the sport?s reigning pay-per-view king, unlikable though he is in comparison to his good-guy rival, is at least taking on the best welterweight outside of Pacquiao ? Victor Ortiz -- and for that reason there?s some amount of sizzle to the match-up.

Listen, Mayweather is a lot of bad things. He?s a woman-beater. He?s a racist homophobe. He?s an alleged assaulter of security guards. He?s a semi-retired fighter who rarely faces the best available competition.

And Pacquiao is a lot of good things. He?s a great figurehead for the sport, a boxer-congressman who tries his best to deliver action and excitement inside the ring and comports himself with class and dignity outside it.

But I think that in the ongoing series of chess moves involving the sport?s two best boxers and two biggest stars, Mayweather wins this round by fighting Ortiz. Overall, Mayweather is significantly more to blame in my book for Pacquiao-Mayweather falling through a few times. But Mayweather-Ortiz trumps Pacquiao?s latest goings-on.

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