NEW YORK– By Jordan Levine

If you thought the Alvarez-Gomez ending was controversial, Floyd Mayweather made sure to put that fight to rest. No one will be speaking about the controversial early stoppage in the next few days as “Canelo” remained undefeated. The main event made sure to put that baby to bed.

The crowd was hot. The fighters were hot. It appeared to be a typical Mayweather fight. Mayweather would let his opponent gain some confidence, hit him with counter shots, and cruise to an easy unanimous decision. Yet, one head butt and two sucker punches later, the fight ended at 2:59 in the fourth round. Victor Ortiz had Mayweather on the ropes and was throwing combinations that Mayweather was having trouble defending. In an error of stupidity, “Vicious” Victor Ortiz blatantly head butted “Money,” something Ortiz denied later. Ortiz apologized by hugging Mayweather and kissing him on the cheek. Referee Joe Cortez stopped the clock and rightfully deducted a point away from Ortiz. Despite being genuinely sorry and hugging Mayweather as the fight restarted, Mayweather did something legal but disgusting. He hugged him and then hit Ortiz with a left hook and a right hand that Ortiz never saw coming.

Despite Mayweather’s attack, boxing is a sport. While he did nothing illegal and a fighter must protect himself at all times, as Mayweather continued to say in the shortened post fight interview with Larry Merchant, was Mayweather right? The argument will continue. There was no doubt it was legal and no doubt he acted unsportsmanlike.

However, should we be surprised at a man who has lawsuits against him, literally burns $100 bills in clubs, mocked Ortiz’s rough upbringing, and grabbed his opponent’s throat at the weigh in? Mayweather is not exactly a role model for children.

His disgusting behavior continued when Larry Merchant attempted to interview him. After years of disdain between the two, Mayweather walked away and said, “You don’t know s**t about boxing.” Merchant replied, “I wish I was 50 years younger. I would kick your ass.” Mayweather has some serious issues and showed little respect for the Sweet Science tonight. One can only hope that what’s next for the unpredictable Floyd “Money” Mayweather is his next opponent will be none other than Larry Merchant!

Miguel Cotto took a pounding last November when he suffered his second defeat in his career to Manny Pacquiao. Therefore, Cotto decided to shake things up.

He hired the highly-respected Emanuel Steward as his trainer, moved his training camp from his native Puerto Rico to Tampa, Florida, and went up to the 154 pound weight class. It all worked out on June 5 when Cotto demolished Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium to become the WBA Super Welterweight champion.

Previously, I reported that Cotto would face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Dec. 4 (See “Chavez-Cotto Is On!”). Well, when Chavez refused to train in the Phillipines due to trainer Freddie Roach working with Pacquiao, the fight was over. Top Rank boss Bob Arum scrambled to find an opponent for Cotto but nothing interested him.

My suggestion to Arum and Top Rank would be to possibly look for fighters outside Arum’s stable of fighters. If Arum only looks for fighters inside his own promotion, he will continue to put on bad fights like Margarito-Pacquiao set for this November. Arum needs to find fighters that will intrigue the public and his fighters. Otherwise, we might not see some good fights for awhile coming out of Top Rank.

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PARTS UNKNOWN– By Jordan Levine

After a Hall of Fame career, Roy Jones Jr. has been pathetic in his last three fights. Against Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins, he lost one-sided decisions. In between those two fights, Danny Green knocked out the 41-year-old in the very first round.

One would think it should be time for Jones to hang up his gloves, take his place in the Hall of Fame and possibly, become an analyst. Jones was a great commentator for the Foreman-Cotto fight at Yankee Stadium. Jones has other plans.

Instead of retiring and allowing people to remember him as the amazing fighter he truly was, Jones is going to fight in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida against Danny Santiago for a meaningless cruiserweight championship. The winner of four division world championships said, “What are you gonna do? You gonna box or sit around? I’ve been sitting around and I wasn’t enjoying it. This is still what I want to do. Got nothing else to do but get in trouble or get fat, so what I got to stop for? I’ll fight and I’ll fight to win.”

Roy Jones will fight. He will try to win. He will not win. He has nothing left in the tank. He also has nothing left to prove. He is 54-7 with 40 KO’s. He has beaten some of the best of all time. He will forever be a boxing icon. At one time, Jones Jr. was the man. Yet, to think, he can still compete at any division is just ludicrous. The man cannot even draw a crowd anymore.

After 17 years, he finally had a rematch with Hopkins. The place was not even half full. It was a sad night. It will be a sad night in Pensacola when no one shows up to see Santiago beat Roy Jones Jr. easily. Hopefully, this fight will put him at peace with his career. Unfortunately, Santiago will not end Jones’ career. Jones will continue to fight on, unsuccessfully and tarnish his legacy.

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