A little-known American boxer had fans harkening back to a famous Floyd Mayweather KO over the weekend, but perhaps not for the right reasons.
Californian fighter Ruben Torres brought his professional record to 19-0 against Cristian Baez on Saturday night at a Thompson Boxing show with a massive knockout in round seven. But what made the clip from an otherwise relatively uneventful show go viral was the similarities to Mayweather's stoppage of Ortiz over a decade ago.
Back in 2011, Mayweather infamously threw a big right hand at Ortiz while he was stepping back from a hug after a foul had caused the pair to be broken up. He stunned his rival and managed to knock him out, much to the annoyance of fans who felt that it was a dirty move, and never rematched Ortiz as he promised in his post-fight interview.
And Torres did similar when, after a minor infraction, he touched gloves with Baez before quickly within the same motion loading up on his left hand and landing a flush punch on the jaw. Baez didn't get up, and officials were called to the ring to check on his wellbeing.
The video went viral on Twitter, earning over 834,000 views on the Thompson Boxing account, which only has just under 6,000 followers. And while some fans felt that it was a dirty tactic, they did remind Baez that the referee tells fighters before every boxing match that they must protect themselves at all times.
Do you believe that Ruben Torres and Floyd Mayweather were wrong to land KO punches? Let us know in the comments section below!
One fan wrote "It's dirty for sure but it's technically legal so there's that," and later added "This guy watched and studied Mayweather Ortiz." Another added that Baez "re-entered the ring like he never been there before." Some fans jokingly asked if the punch was "the check handshake hook", while another noted that Torres "pulled that out of the Mayweather-Ortiz fight."
These moves are completely legal, and generally not considered to even be that poor of sportsmanship. Glove touches and respectful conduct are expected at times, but if a fighter isn't protecting themselves then they should expect to receive a big shot in such an intense sport.
