Mayweather controversially stops Ortiz

 LAS VEGAS, (Reuters) – Floyd Mayweather Jr took the  WBC welterweight title from Victor Ortiz with a controversial  fourth-round knockout yesterday that prompted an angry  response from the crowd and raised questions about his conduct  in the ring.   
 Aggressive puncher Ortiz had knocked down 12 of his previous  13 opponents and he pinned fellow American Mayweather against  the ropes before being penalised by referee Joe Cortez for a  head-butt.   
 After a brief time-out, Ortiz apologised to his opponent in  the centre of the ring by touching gloves before Mayweather  suddenly responded with a left hook and crunching right that  dropped Ortiz to the canvas at 2:59.   
 Boos rang out from the crowd in the MGM Grand Garden Arena  but Mayweather, who improved his professional career record to a  perfect 42-0 with 26 knockouts, was unrepentant.   
 “I got hit with a dirty shot, I was protecting myself at all  times,” the 34-year-old said ringside. “I hit him with a left  and then a right hand, and that ended the bout.”   
 Asked to describe what happened as a replay of the final  moments was shown on a giant television screen, Mayweather  replied: “We touched gloves and we were back to fighting, then I  threw the left and right hand and that’s all she wrote.   
 “In the ring, you just have to protect yourself at all  times. I was victorious. If he wants a re-match, he can get a  re-match.”   
 Mayweather, widely regarded as the best defensive fighter of  his generation, then showered his interviewer with abuse and  said he had never been given “a fair shake”.   
 Ortiz, who took the WBC welterweight title from Andre Berto  in April with an unanimous points victory, conceded the  head-butt had been unfortunate but was eager to get a re-match  with Mayweather.   
 ORTIZ APOLOGY   
 “I apologised to him,” the 24-year-old southpaw said after  slipping to 29-3-2 with 22 knockouts. “I am not a dirty fighter.  I am sorry for that. But I was doing just fine until that  slip-up so I would love this re-match.”   
 Ortiz, who had said during the fight’s build-up that he had  never been especially impressed by Mayweather’s fighting  credentials, gave his own version of how the bout had ended.   
 “I was called to break by the referee (after the head-butt)  and I obeyed exactly as I was told,” he said. “And then, boom,  he blindsided me. It happens.   
 “As far as I was concerned, I came here to entertain the  fans and I think they were entertained. There was a  miscommunication with the referee but nobody is perfect and this  was a learning experience.”   
 Watched by a crowd of around 15,000 that included former  heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, American pop singer Christina  Aguilera and basketball great Magic Johnson, Mayweather made a  confident start.   
 He landed several body shots early in the opening round and  dictated the tempo with a series of accurate right jabs.   
 Though Ortiz forced Mayweather to back-peddle for much of  round two and twice pinned him against the ropes, his opponent  responded with a couple of crunching rights to retain control.   
 Mayweather continued to dominate, maintaining the initiative  with accurate punching in round three and then upped the pace in  the fourth before getting the knockout he had predicted earlier  in the week.   
 He dominated the official ringside statistics, connecting  with 73 of 208 punches thrown to 26 of 148 for Ortiz. Mayweather  also landed 61 power punches compared to Ortiz’s 26.   
 Earlier on Saturday, Mexican boxing great Erik Morales, at  the age of 35, stopped compatriot Pablo Cesar Cano after 10 of  12 scheduled rounds to claim the vacant WBC super lightweight  world title.