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ESPN: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz Exhibition Boxing Fight Set for Aug. 24

Mike Chiari

Retired boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly expected to announce an upcoming exhibition fight against Victor Ortiz.

According to ESPN's Salvador Rodríguez, the bout will take place Aug. 24 at Plaza de Toros Mexico in Mexico City, which is the largest bullring in the world, holding over 41,000 spectators.

Mayweather and Ortiz had an official fight against each other in September 2011. Mayweather was victorious via fourth-round knockout.

At the time of that contest, Ortiz was 29-2-2 and coming off a WBC welterweight title win over Andre Berto.

Meanwhile, Mayweather had not fought in 16 months, but he made a huge impact upon returning to the ring by beating Ortiz for the WBC welterweight title.

Mayweather went a perfect 50-0 in his career, but the win over Ortiz was perhaps his most controversial victory.

After the fighters were separated due to Ortiz hitting Mayweather with an illegal headbutt, Ortiz hugged Mayweather in an apparent attempt to apologize. Once he let go, Mayweather caught Ortiz with an unexpected punch, prompting Ortiz to look toward the official. Mayweather then punched Ortiz again, resulting in a knockout.

Mayweather went on to beat the likes of Miguel Cotto, Canelo Álvarez, Manny Pacquiao and even UFC star Conor McGregor after that, while Ortiz's career was never quite the same.

The loss to Mayweather was the start of a three-fight losing streak for Ortiz. He also went on to lose a rematch to Berto and a bout against Robert Guerrero.

Ortiz went just 4-4-1 after the Mayweather fight and retired following a win over Todd Manuel in 2022.

While Ortiz has been out of boxing for the past couple of years, Mayweather has continued to take part in exhibitions even after retiring following his win over McGregor in 2017.

Mayweather's exhibition opponents since 2018 have included three Japanese kickboxers and MMA fighters, YouTuber and WWE Superstar Logan Paul, and most recently John Gotti III, who is the grandson of notorious mobster John Gotti.

Due to the venue and the history Mayweather has with Ortiz, their clash could be the biggest event Mayweather has been a part of since retiring from professional boxing.

   

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