The entertaining sideshow we are referring to began with approximately 20 seconds left in round four, as Ortiz had Mayweather against the ropes and was landing some shots on the undefeated former champion.  However, Ortiz appeared to get a little too riled up, as he let his emotions get the better of him and delivered a headbutt to the chin of Mayweather.  Ortiz was deducted a point for the illegal maneuver, but when the fight was restarted and the two met to touch gloves at the center of the ring, it appeared as though Mayweather was saying something in the ear of Ortiz, before stepping back and knocking out his unsuspecting opponent with a left-right combo.

For some reason, referee Joe Cortez was not looking at the fighters while this took place, and when his focus returned to the fighters, Ortiz was on the ground and Cortez proceeded to begin his 10-count.  The reigning WBC champion was unable to get back to his feet, and Mayweather was awarded the KO victory at 2:59 of the fourth round.

If you though that was strange, it gets better!

With the boos raining down on Mayweather, he met with a rather disappointed Larry Merchant in the ring for a post-fight interview.  Fed up with Merchant’s questions about his apparent cheapshot, Mayweather sounded off on the ringside analyst, yelling “HBO needs to fire you” and “you don’t know sh*t about boxing.”  Merchant responded by saying, “I wish I was 50 years younger and I’d kick your ass.”

On the one hand, the fight just seemed to start getting interesting, as Ortiz had lost the first three rounds but appeared to have something going in the fourth round before throwing the head butt.  That left many believing that he may have been able to work his way back into the fight, had it continued.  But on the other hand, that post-fight exchange between Floyd Mayweather and Larry Merchant alone was probably worth about $30, which has left me wondering whether those of us who paid the $50 bucks to watch this fight ended up getting our money’s worth?

For those of you who didn’t get to see it, as well as those of you who want to see it again, you can catch the must-see highlights from the latter portion of the fight and the post-fight interview in the video below.

Piniella’s experience with smoking the chronic has helped him cope with Soto’s actions, and that’s a good thing for the Cubs catcher, who will not be disciplined by MLB or his team for the positive test.  Piniella spoke to the media prior to the Cubs game against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, and had the following to say:

“Look, I have smoked dope one time in my life.  And it didn’t do a damn thing for me, and I never tried it again. I’m fortunate because of that. A lot of people do. You can even buy it in California from a pharmacy.

“I do know young people make mistakes at times and learn from mistakes. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life personally, and I’ve learned from them.” [ESPN]

Piniella never seems to disappoint when speaking to the media about his players mess-ups.  He was almost at a loss for words after Milton Bradley’s bad day at the ballpark, but this time he showed us all that everyone needs to get a little high some times.  Even Lou (maybe that’s why he’s been rather calm lately).  Now what’s the address of that pharmacy again?

Soto represented Puerto Rico during this year’s WBC, but he will not be representing his country in international competition over the next two years as part of his disciplinary action.  In a statement released today, Soto stated that this is not something he usually partakes in (no surprise there).

We are still waiting on his bong pics, al la Michael Phelps.  Good thing he doesn’t live in Sheriff Lott’s county.

Soto released the following statement:

“While I fully acknowledge my inappropriate behavior, I want to assure my fans and my family that this was an isolated incident.

“I do not say this to minimize or deflect from my conduct and I fully understand the ramifications of my actions. I have and will accept any and all consequences.

“I am fully dedicated to the game of baseball and my teammates, and I apologize for any distraction and embarrassment this may cause them.

Finally, I would like to thank the Chicago Cubs organization for its support in this matter. I take great pride in putting on my Cubs uniform every day and I look forward to helping the team achieve a successful season.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

Soto will not be disciplined by the Cubs or the MLB, and rightfully so.  Performance-enhancing drugs have no place in sports, but performance-decreasing ones should not be looked at in a similar fashion.  And if you don’t think so, try hitting a 95 mph fastball while high.

Hat Tip – [Deadspin]

It only took the younger George 1:16 to send the large out-of-shape man to the ground for the second time, ending the fight.  He may have broken more of a sweat walking from the dressing room to the ring.

As soon as George III came out, he began his barrage of punches.  All Weaver seemed to have in his arsenal was the cover-up, and he couldn’t even do that properly.  He quickly realized that while receiving many punches he would not be delivering one anytime soon, eliminating the possibility of even considering the “puncher’s chance”, and took a knee in defeat.

It was no Foreman vs. Ali, but maybe this fight marks the beginning of something great.  As for the “Human Punching-Bag” comment, I’m pretty sure a punching-bag would put up more of a challenge.  Take a look for yourself.

Floyd “Money” Mayweather, as he likes to call himself, is set to fight Juan Marquez on July 18th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but the main focus of the discussion seemed to be on the possibility of a Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight, much to the dismay of Floyd.  After being asked the question on whether he should be chasing Manny, Mayweather continued to defend his thrown as best fighter in the world.  At times the conversation got heated, especially when it was suggested that Floyd was the best pound-for-pound fighter until he retired, and now Pacquiao holds that reign.

Floyd Mayweather ends the argument by pointing to Manny’s losses, and then states “Pacquiao can be called the best pound for pound, you just call me the cash king, you know stats don’t lie.”  You are right Floyd.  Stats don’t lie.  And that’s why you are still number one, but the doubters continue to grow now.  So all that’s left for us to winder is whether we will ever get to see Pacquiao vs Mayweather?  If the boxing gods are kind, the answer will undoubtedly be “YES”.

Oksana has become the face of Boxing, and what a face it is.  The beauty is responsible for congratulating the winner following matches and also represents the WBC at various sports and charity events.  When asked about how she got such a gig, she told FHM the following:

It was an accident. I studied then in Moscow, Institute of International Relations, and, since I’m fluent in many languages, sometimes earned extra buck interpreting. There was an international boxing congress taking place in Moscow, and they called me to interpret for the WBC President Jose Saleiman. We got together pretty well, he invited me to visit WBC HQ in Mexico, then other tasks appeared in front of me, then WBC marketing people started to think that their organization needs a female face, here you go.

I, for one am happy to hear that Oksana has decided to have a boxing career outside the ring, rather than within it.  Unlike Simona Halep and Maria Verchenova, Oksana’s choice of sport is not the most friendly to one’s face.  Although I must say, she does look great in boxing gloves.

Oksana Semenisina Sexy Boxer

Oksana Semenisina Sexy Boxer

Oksana Semenisina Boxer

Oksana Semenisina Sexy Boxer

Oksana Semenisina Sexy Boxer

What were they trying to signify? A round robin victory? That they own the mound in San Diego?  Whatever they were doing it was embarrassing.

What a class-less move, I hope that Japan spanks them tonight.  The game now has more meaning than before thanks to the patriotic south Koreans.  If Japan wins I want them to celebrate by bringing out as many flags as possible and cover the Korean dug-out with them.

The official is reporting carpel tunnel syndrome symptoms from constantly having to raise the radar gun and push the button for every pitch.

If you have watched any of the Group  B action I am sure you will have noticed the snazzy dressed, almost mobster looking type fellow in the backdrop constantly raising his radar gun to clock pitch speeds.

“The gun is very heavy to be lifting it over 250 times a night in hot Mexican weather. All I want is a tri-pod, just like the other stadium officials have” said the official through a translator.

Mexican officials are looking into the situation, and hope to get the man a tripod by the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Ryu: “The starting pitcher for the Taipei was C. Lee, who I have a lot of history dueling against.  I was nervous at first and my aim was off, but the manager just told me to keep tossing the heat over the plate and I did.  My fireballs were just blowing them away, and they didn’t have an answer to them.”

Ryu and Korea will now face E. Honda’s infamous glove and bat speed and his powerhouse Japanese team, and if they win, setting up an epic match against bitter rival booming hitter Guile and team America.

Ryu striking out a batter to end the inning

Agreed the fact that his record does boast the names of Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins and he has remained undefeated for 18 years means he should achieve recollection but he shouldn’t attain the status of the best boxer Britain has produced or top 3 in the pound for pound rankings. Joe has achieved these current adulation’s because of his victories over a 43 year old Bernard Hopkins, a 39 year old Roy Jones Jr who both floored him despite their age, and the vastly overrated contenders in Mikkel Kessler and Jeff Lacy.

Lets put these victories into perspective. Firstly Roy Jones, a great victory no doubt, but Jones has been a shot fighter for almost 5 years, he was great, no doubt, ranked PFP top 3 in his pomp, but now aged 39 he isn’t even ranked in the top 6 of a rubbish division. As he lost to Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, fighters who have done nothing since beating Jones. Johnson for instance lost twice to Clinton Woods, a fighter who Roy schooled but yet Johnson beats Jones, what does this tell you ? Calzaghe in his own book called Jones “washed up” but yet wanted to fight him after this and not in his peak, why ? To add to his myth. If Calzaghe did fight Jones in his prime the beating he would have received would be similar to the one Floyd Mayweather dished out on Ricky Hatton.

Bernard Hopkins would have been a credible opponent years ago, when he was the linear middleweight champion, but no Calzaghe waited till old father time had ticked on Bernie and he had suffered back to back loses to Jermain Taylor. Of course Calzaghe fan boys will tell you he offered Hopkins 2 million to fight him in Wales, an offer Bernard rightfully turned down because he was earning three times this amount defending his middleweight titles in the USA. Instead Joe fought Hopkins in 2008 when he was 43 and past it, however to Hopkins’ credit he took Joe to a highly contested split decision, knocking him down in the first round despite his age, adding further speculation that the Calzaghe legacy is overrated.

Then theres Calzaghe’s victories over young challengers Mikkel Kessler and Jeff Lacey. Kessler was the unified WBC and WBA champion but had never faced anyone ranked highly in his division or in the pound for pound rankings and mainly built his undefeated record in Denmark and Germany against bums. Another example is the vastly overrated Jeff Lacy who was considered the second coming of Mike Tyson before the Calzaghe defeat but had only had 21 fights before the 2006 showdown. Yes Calzaghe won the fight by a landslide, all credit to him but why hasn’t he fought more young contenders such as Kelly Pavlik Chad Dawson’s of this world since then, instead taking fights against Peter Manfredo famous only for his valiant effort on the contender series, he didn’t even win the show, because he was more worried about his 0.

The foremost evidence that Calzaghe’s legacy is a fraud is that he’s never stepped up to the plate to fight the top American contenders in America in their prime, as he was happy to fight in Britain for his entire career. Also the fact that Joe took 10 years to unify all the titles in a very poor division.