Published on 09-18-2011 09:00 AM
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KOs) returned on Saturday night, after a 16 month layoff, to score a fourth round knockout over Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs). Mayweather was a bit inaccurate with his punches from the outset but after a few rounds he found a home for his right hand. Ortiz had his best moment in the fourth when he bullied Mayweather into the ropes and landed a few shots. While Mayweather was pinned against the ropes, Ortiz rammed Mayeather with an intentional head-butt, which opened up a cut on the inside and outside of Mayeather's mouth. Referee Joe Cortez immediately called a halt to the bout to deduct a point from Ortiz. Ortiz apologized to Mayweather, offering him a hug and a kiss. After Cortez had motioned the fighters to continue fighting, Ortiz offered another apologetic hug which Mayweather appeared to accept. As Ortiz pulled back to reset, Mayweather landed a left, followed by a right, which sent Ortiz down for the count. Although the punches were legal, many in attendance were displeased with the outcome due to Mayweather's lack of sportsmanship. Post-fight, Mayweather defended the controversial knockout amid boos from the Las Vegas crowd. In the co-feature, HBO televised the Los Angeles (Staples Center) main event between Mexico's Saul Alvarez (38-0-1, 28 KOs) and Alfonso Gomez (23-5-2, 12 KOs). After a slow start, Alvarez, the popular read-headed Mexican, finally got warmed up in the sixth and hurt Gomez with a barrage of punches. Referee Wayne Hedgepeth stopped the bout at 2 minutes, 36 seconds, despite the fact that Gomez didn't appear to be seriously hurt. On the Mayweather-Ortiz card, Mexican legend Erik Morales (52-7, 36 KOs), proved to be too much for virtual unknown, Pablo Cesar Cano (22-1-1, 17 KOs). Cano got off to a promising start, but Morales stormed back in the later rounds. Both fighters were cut and bloodied, but Cano's face got worse as the bout progressed. In the tenth round, Morales landed a right hand which caused more blood to gush from Cano's face. The fight was halted at the end of the round and Morales was awarded the TKO victory. With the victory, Morales won the vacant WBC junior welterweight title, to become the first Mexican born fighter to win four titles in four different weight classes. However, the validity of the accomplishment must be questioned considering the circumstances. The title was stripped from Timothy Bradley and Morales fought a virtual unknown for the vacant title. Jessie Vargas W10 Josesito Lopez, Scorecards read: 96-93, 95-94, 96-93.
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WROCLAW, Poland -- Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KOs) halted game but vastly overmatched challenger Tomasz Adamek (44-2, 28 KOs) in the tenth round to retain his WBC heavyweight title on Saturday.
In his second bout at junior featherweight, Fernando Montiel (46-3-2, 36 KOs) scored a third round TKO over Nicaragua's Alvaro Perez (18-4-1, 9 KOs). While the first few rounds were fought on relatively even terms, a Montiel combination sent Perez to the canvas in third. Apparently that was good enough for the ref as he called a halt to the bout prior to finishing the count. For many viewers, the knockout seemed questionable as none of the punches appeared to land flush. 
Coming off a 13 month layoff, Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo (20-1, 17 KOs) returned to action with a first round knockout over unheralded Joseph Gomez (17-5-1, 8 KOs). Angulo ended matters quickly with a right-left combination to the body, a right hand to the back of the head, and a final left hook to the body. Gomez dropped to his knees and the bout was surprisingly waved off at the count of seven. 
In the ESPN2 Friday Night Fight’s main event, Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOS) became Amir Khan’s IBF junior welterweight mandatory challenger after scoring a 12th round knockout over Victor Cayo (26-2, 18 KOs). The bout was close after eight rounds, but Peterson separated himself in the championship rounds. Peterson scored a knockdown in the final round, and an exhausted Cayo remained on his knees as referee Kenny Bayless counted him out.
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