Oscar hops on the phone, Martinez gets his man, and the Cotto-Margarito war begins early

By Kieran Mulvaney

Kieran Mulvaney reads between the lines of a few of the latest stories in the boxing…

Photo: Will HartThey Said: Nine days after his controversial knockout by Floyd Mayweather, Victor Ortiz held a conference call with reporters on Monday. Ortiz insisted that the knockout blow, which came while Ortiz was evidently trying to apologize (for the third time, it should be emphasized) for a headbutt that had just earned him a point deduction, was “a cheap shot.” Mayweather, he insisted, “is not respected by me and never will be in my eyes as a pound-for-pound fighter.”

I Say: That call, which also included Ortiz’s manager and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, all three insisting that Ortiz was winning the fight until the knockout and demanding a rematch, was ill-advised. Ortiz lost virtually every moment of that fight; he needs simply to accept he was taught a painful but valuable lesson by a masterful veteran, pick up his career and fight his way back to the top. He’s done it before. He can do it again.

They Said: Speaking in advance of his middleweight title defense on HBO on Saturday, Sergio Martinez complimented Darren Barker for rising to the challenge. “The fact that Barker is willing to step up and put his undefeated record on the line shows you that he has a lot of heart and that he is a true warrior, which isn't the case for all fighters,” he said.

I Say: It’s a strange state of affairs when the middleweight champion has to express gratitude for having a willing challenger, but such is the curious case of Martinez. Several other potential opponents appeared to have other pressing appointments that prevented them from fighting for the middleweight crown, which is a sign of just how good Martinez is. Credit to Barker and his promoter, who threw down the gauntlet over Twitter, where it was rapidly picked up by Martinez and promoter Lou DiBella. (You can read more about the fight in Eric Raskin’s overview on HBO.com.)

They Said: “Just finished Cotto-Margarito II Face Off. Oh. My. God.” @Max_Kellerman, September 22.

I Say: The back story for the December 3 rematch between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito writes itself: Margarito’s brutal beatdown victory was his finest hour but it was tarnished six months later by the discovery, prior to the Mexican’s fight against Shane Mosley, of tampered hand wraps. Cotto has long made it clear that he believes Margarito cheated against him that night in July 2008, and for years was unwilling to fight him again. As Kellerman’s tweet underlines, the hate between the two burns fiercely, increasing anticipation for the rematch two months from now.

CompuBox PunchStat Report: Mayweather KO 4 Ortiz

By CompuBox

Photo: Will HartMayweather landed 24 power punches in round four, the last two dropped the unsuspecting Ortiz for the count.

Mayweather KO 4 Ortiz: There’s A Sucker (Punch) Born Every Minute

By Eric Raskin

Photo: Will Hart

You can't let your guard down in the boxing ring. Especially if the guy across the ring from you is Floyd Mayweather.

Victor Ortiz learned this lesson in the hardest way possible on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, paying the price for dropping his hands when Mayweather landed a perfectly legal, if not entirely gentlemanly, two-punch combination to produce a sensational, controversial fourth-round knockout. READ MORE ON HBO.COM...

The Mayweather-Ortiz Fight Week Flurry

By Eric Raskin

Photo: Will HartAs a wild week of commotion, promotion and emotion gives way to Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz showdown, let’s take a look through what everyone’s been buzzing about—from the HBO.com insiders to the fight fans following along:

Mayweather and Ortiz didn’t arrive at this mega-event by accident. They each scored significant wins on the road to “Star Power,” and now find themselves jockeying for position in the upper reaches of the talent-loaded welterweight division. With his sublime skills, Mayweather is the consensus favorite in the fight. But not everyone sees it that way. HBO expert analyst Emanuel Steward broke down the strategic intricacies of the fight and gives Ortiz an excellent chance, and not surprisingly, Ortiz’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya feels the same way—and has the first-hand experience fighting Mayweather to validate his viewpoints.

But there are countless different ways to analyze a fight beyond just what the industry insiders have to say. You can explore the finer points of the matchup. You can crunch the CompuBox numbers. You can even try to figure out who won the verbal joust at the final press conference.

And when it’s all said and done, you make your predictions. The experts had their say, and unanimously went with the chalk and tabbed Mayweather to win. The fans were a little more divided. On Twitter, @rcollick and @crucifixio picked Mayweather via varying margins, but @odogg33 went with the underdog Ortiz. Meanwhile, on the comment boards on the HBO Inside Boxing blog, Elvin T. took the Ortiz side as well, predicting “Floyd is gonna be looking up at the lights thinking, WTF happened?” But commenter Ish A. envisions a knockout win for Mayweather, claiming “Victor Ortiz is nervous, has no defense, and come Saturday will receive a boxing lesson of a lifetime!”

In addition to the 12 rounds (or less) of Mayweather vs. Ortiz, there’s plenty of before and after to consider. Prior to the main event, we’ll see an intriguing undercard, featuring a plethora of popular Mexican and Mexican-American fighters—many of whom, like Mayweather, come from boxing families. And after the main event is over, attention will inevitably turn to what’s next. No matter the outcome, Manny Pacquiao’s name will be on fight fans’ minds. Two HBO.com contributors explored this in detail on different corners of the web, with Chris Mannix tackling the Pacquiao factor on SI.com and Kieran Mulvaney experiencing Floyd’s many personalities on ESPN.com.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The opening bell of Mayweather vs. Ortiz is almost here, and there’s nothing more thrilling than that moment when fight week gives way to the fight itself.

The Most Intense Moments from 24/7

By Eric Raskin

It’s been heralded as the greatest reality show on TV, and like any show in that genre, it’s built to entertain. But 24/7 also delivers scenes that are stunningly authentic and revealing. Here are our picks for the most intensely real moment from each episode of 24/7: Mayweather-Ortiz, presented in the reverse order of how they were aired:

Episode 4: The Son Sets (18:30)

With a 10-word sentence uttered on the final episode of the series, Mayweather put a heartbreaking coda (for now) on his troubled relationship with his father: “If me and my dad never speak again, I’m okay.” Wow. Of course, this relationship has seemed beyond repair in the past and proven (temporarily) reparable, so all hope is never lost. Still, don’t count on a heartfelt in-ring hug between Sr. and Jr. after the fight tonight.

Episode 3: The Skype’s the Limit (19:17)

Mayweather took the time to chat via Skype with a unit of American soldiers serving in Afghanistan, and he seemed, initially, to be taking his responsibility to entertain, inspire, and motivate the troops very seriously. But it eventually devolved into an uncomfortably inappropriate episode of MTV’s Cribs, with “Money” showing off his relatively trivial car collection to a group of men off fighting a war. The two sides of Mayweather’s personality both made their presence felt in this awkwardly unforgettable scene.

Episode 2: Ortiz’s Back Story (16:57)

You know that big black tattoo that stretches across the entirety of Ortiz’s upper back? He explained the story behind it: It originally read “Ortiz,” but after a moment of realization about his father, the man from whom he inherited that surname, he angrily covered those five letters up, essentially erasing his estranged father’s imprint. (By the way, in trying to pick an intense moment from Episode 2, this one juuuust edged out Cornelius Boza-Edwards and Roger Mayweather playing Abbott and Costello at a sub shop with their “Sammie”-“salmon” routine.)

Episode 1: “And Mother%&*#$@, I’m Not No Junior” (23:10)

If you saw it, you’ll never forget it. It was the most jaw-dropping scene in 24/7 history: Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr., seemingly from out of nowhere, getting into a verbal blowup in which the son tore down every ounce of self-worth his father thought he had. It ended with “Big Floyd” kicked out of the gym, maybe forever, and his superstar son essentially disowning him by declaring, “I’m not no junior!” For better or worse, this is why Floyd Mayweather and 24/7 have proven the perfect match for each other.