When Floyd Mayweather grabbed WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz by the throat at the end of their weigh-in at the MGM Grand's Grand Garden Arena on Friday, Ortiz just laughed and did not retaliate. Some pushing and shoving ensued before it was broken up.
"It's all a big joke," Ortiz mumbled. "It's nothing."
Perhaps. This is the biggest stage Ortiz has been on and may ever be on. However, the 24-year-old with the amazing life story remained unruffled, and calmly told Mayweather, smiling, "you're going down, you're going down."
Mayweather, who is guaranteed $25 million for the fight, is a veteran of the big Las Vegas boxing stage and knows how to incite the crowd. And this crowd estimated at 4,000 was solidly in Ortiz's corner, including hundreds of fans who came in from the Garden City, Kan., area, where Ortiz — who is guaranteed by far his biggest payday at $2.5 million — grew up, and where his parents abandoned young Ortiz and his siblings.
Almost unnoticed in the weigh-in crowd was Floyd Mayweather Sr., who got into a knock-down, drag-out shouting match with his son that was aired on the first episode of HBO's 24/7: Mayweather vs. Ortiz. This is the first time the elder Mayweather has been seen in the same vicinity as his son since that much talked-about episode, which ended up with Mayweather Sr. being escorted from his son's gym.
Mayweather did not acknowledge his father at the weigh-in, and said on the fourth and final episode of 24/7 on Friday that if he never talked to his father again, it would not bother him.
SATURDAY: Live blog for big bout
The weigh-in was hosted by HBO ring announcer Michael Buffer and assisted by comedians Paul Rodriguez and Kevin Hart.
Ortiz tipped the scales at 147 pounds, the welterweight limit, and Mayweather came in at 146½.
"I have been at this for 16 years," said Mayweather, who is heavily favored. "This is the first time for Ortiz.
"I just have to keep my composure, stick to my game plan, and listen to what my (trainer) Uncle Roger tells me."
The Mayweather-Ortiz extravaganza (HBO, 9 p.m. ET, pay-per-view and closed circuit) has been called the "Super Bowl" of boxing by its promoters, and HBO is giving it Super Bowl-style treatment.
HBO will sate the boxing fan's appetite for the highly anticipated bout between the 34-year-old Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) and Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs).
HBO has scheduled a six-hour block of programming for Saturday, beginning at noon ET called The Mayweather-Ortiz HBO Zone Roadblock, on HBO Zone channel, an unprecedented (at least for boxing) lineup, beginning with all four half-hour episodes of 24/7: Mayweather-Ortiz. Jim Lampley, who will call the fight later that evening, will be the host of the programming block, which also includes a one-hour Fight Day Live! special from the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 4 p.m. that will give viewers all the latest news and insights as the main event approaches.
The Mayweather-Ortiz undercard is loaded with talented fighters, and includes two title fights. The first televised bout features up-and-coming welterweight star Jessie Vargas (16-0, 9 KOs) against veteran Josesito Lopez (29-3, 17 KOs).
Then Mexican legend Erik "El Terrible" Morales (51-7, 35 KOs) takes on another up-and-coming star, Pablo Cesar Cano (22-0-1, 17 KOs) for the vacant WBC super lightweight title.
Finally, in a buildup to the main event, an unprecedented split site bout will feature 21-year-old WBC super welterweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (37-0-1, 27 KOs), a superstar from Guadalajara, Mexico, against Alfonso Gomez (23-4-2 (12 KOs) from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Fans at both arenas, and pay-per-view buyers will be able to watch all of the fights.
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