The hottest boxing action in any given calendar year usually peters out before December rolls around. Big cards almost always take place in November - and that will happen again this year thanks to Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III - and sometimes the first weekend of December, but that's usually as far as it goes.

Not in 2011. Now that Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko will square off again on December 3 and the Super Six Final between Andre Ward and Carl Froch has been rescheduled for December 17, there's a decent chance that the sport is saving its best for last.

We're still not pushing things into Christmas or New Year's, but the final month is still looking extremely exciting for boxing fans. Here's a look at what's in store: no comments

The blog has been quiet this week because the wife and I are out in Las Vegas attending the wedding of two of our friends. On the plus side, that means I am out in Las Vegas, possibly my favorite place in the whole world (though not for long if the tables are as unkind to me as they've been over the past few days!).

Every time I'm out here, I like to take a gander at the betting lines on upcoming fights to get an idea of where the public is putting money. The two biggest fights on the fall schedule from a betting standpoint appear to be the Super Six final between Andre Ward and Carl Froch and the final chapter in the trilogy between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

(Before I go on, I should mention that all lines mentioned in this article are from the sports book at the MGM Grand.)

In the charged atmosphere that existed in the aftermath of Floyd Mayweather's fourth-round knockout of Victor Ortiz, the most inane question that was asked of anyone was regarding who was the winner. Even Jim Lampley, no stranger to nonsensical queries and outbursts from time to time, seemed to chuckle a bit at that one.

Mayweather was the absolute winner. The booing fans didn't change that - a majority of them were rooting against him anyway. Neither did the perfectly legal yet ethically questionable nature of his knockout.

Floyd managed to stop a younger, (much) bigger opponent in just four rounds, albeit with two punches launched when said opponent wasn't looking. Mayweather will conveniently omit that last part in italics when talking about the fight, but that doesn't change any of the facts.

So the winner was never in doubt. What hasn't been discussed as much is who ended up as the losers: Boxing fans. Again. If that fight goes the distance, chances are Mayweather wins by comfortable decision because, hey, that's what he does. He's the best boxer in the world.

But at least Ortiz offered the promise of some moments of excitement along the way, certainly more than we saw from Shane Mosley or Juan Manuel Marquez. Unless you were a big Mayweather fan and enjoyed that weird KO, you didn't get much bang for your viewing buck.

Who's at fault for this outcome? Glad you asked. Tell Kanye and John Legend to fire up the "Blame Game," because there's plenty to go around: no comments

It's almost time for the main event of the Star Power pay-per-view as Floyd Mayweather Jr. returns to action after a 16-month layoff to face young WBC welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is the venue and the excitement is building.

A video package takes us back through some of Mayweather's triumphs and Ortiz's thrilling victory over Andre Berto earlier this year. Jim Lampley mentions that Ortiz will enjoy a significant weight advantage, as he stepped on the unofficial HBO scale today and weighed 164 pounds while Mayweather only weighed 150.

Christina Aguilera, Magic Johnson, Anna Paquin, Mike Tyson, Sean Combs and Mark Wahlberg are just a sampling of the famous names on hand for the fight. We're getting the Mexican and U.S. national anthems before we get down to business.

The tale of the tape shows that Ortiz is an inch taller but has shorter arms. Ortiz is 10 years younger, which could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on how things play out.

Ortiz comes out first to a good crowd reaction. He goes old school with "We Will Rock You" by Queen before switiching it over to a Mexican song. Ortiz is 29-2-2 with 22 KOs, and he is making his first defense of the WBC welterweight belt.

Mayweather has a black and orange robe that gives off a Halloween vibe. He has rapper 50 Cent by his side, wearing a few of his belts. Appropriately, "Outlaw" by 50 Cent is playing during the ring walk. Mayweather is 41-0 with 25 KOs during his well-decorated pro career.

Joe Cortez is the referee in charge of the action. Michael Buffer handles the official introductions, and we are ready to go for a scheduled 12 rounds of boxing.


Round 1

Mayweather is a little more active right out of the gate than he usually is. Both men land some short shots. Ortiz lands some light lefts and gets whacked with a flush right hand. Ortiz floats around to look for some body shots. Both guys land something on the inside. Mayweather escapes getting trapped along the ropes but has to watch out for a laft hand lead.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Mayweather
Parker: 10-9 Mayweather
Uatu: 10-9 Mayweather


Round 2

Ortiz can't find the range, not that it's a surprise to see that. He does land a left hand, and Floyd has to watch out for a second one. Ortiz lands a glancing right hand on the inside. Floyd retreats to range and picks his spots with the right. Ortiz backs Floyd into the corner but can't land anything flush. He lands a left hook that may have gotten Mayweather's attention. Ortiz tries to press the issue again, and the round ends with wrestling.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Mayweather
Parker: 10-9 Mayweather
Uatu: 10-9 Mayweather


Round 3

Mayweather triples the jab to good effect. Ortiz sneaks in two left hand leads but also eats a hook coming back. Both men try to land straight punches in the middle of the ring, and Floyd scores first. There's another right by Mayweather. Right now CompuBox has Ortiz landing only two punches in this frame. Both guys land single shots in the closing seconds.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Mayweather
Parker: 10-9 Mayweather
Uatu: 10-9 Mayweather


Round 4

Mayweather lands a series of power shots to open this round. Ortiz backs him into the ropes but doesn't throw. Two more shots land flush for Floyd, but Ortiz scores with a right hook. That got the crowd going. Ortiz lands a left to the body and ends up getting tied up. Mayweather returns to his straight right. He lands another one but they don't seem to be fazing Ortiz. Ortiz pours it on in the corner and looks like he head butted Floyd on purpose. The ref stops the fight for a second to talk to Ortiz. The action begins again, Ortiz looks like he is going in to apologize, and Mayweather clocks him with a left hand. Ortiz can't answer the count, and it's over. What a crazy ending!

The winner by KO at 2:59 of Round 4... and new WBC welterweight titleholder... Floyd "Money" Mayweather.

Larry Merchant talks to Floyd, saying the crowd is letting him have it. Mayweather says he got hit with a dirty shot, but it's protect yourself at all times. Floyd tries to justify his actions after they touched gloves. Mayweather tries to turn things around by cursing at Merchant who says, "I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your ass!"

Ortiz claims he was just trying to obey the referee and was breaking as he was told. The next thing he knew he was out. Ortiz claims the head butt was not intentional and apologized for it after it happened. Victor says the whole thing was a learning experience and he's not trying to pass the blame for what happened.

Laughing about it later, Merchant says he would not have been able to kick Mayweather's ass 50 years ago, but he would have tried. Larry thinks Floyd went into that tirade to avoid answering questions about fighting Manny Pacquiao. 

Alvarez and Gomez are about to make their way to the ring for the last undercard fight of the evening.  Here comes Gomez now. Alvarez follows, wearing a gold robe that looks more like a blouse.  

Both fighters are in the ring.  We are now awaiting Joe Martinez's introductions.  Gomez's record is 24-3-2 with 12 KOs while Canelo is 37-0-1 with 27 KOs. 

Here we go.

Round 1
They square off in the center.  Gomez goes in with the jab early.  Saul is waiting to to throw more punches.  Saul comes in and throws a mean left hook.  Not sure if it made it through the gloves.  Gomez lands a right hook.  Saul comes back with a straight right plus a straight to the body.  Gomez lands a straight right hand.  Saul hammers the jab and a short left hook and Gomez goes down.  He makes it up but looks slightly hurt.

Parker: 10-8 Alvarez
Tylwalk: 10-9 Alvarez 

Round 2
The replay shows it was actually a quick jab that caused the knockdown.  Gomez is looking to get inside early in round 2.  Saul is using nice movement to get out of the way and land counters.  Gomez goes to the body.  Gmoez lands a straight right.  Saul lands two shots to the body.  Gomez lands two hooks upstairs.  Gomez throws a left but misses.  Saul lands a stiff jab.  They trade right hooks to end round.

Parker: 10-9 Alvarez
Tylwalk: 10-9 Gomez 

Round 3
They meet in the center once again. Saul eats a couple straight.  Gomez answers with a good flurry upstairs.  Saul steals the round back with an quick and hard combo of hooks.  Gomez lands two left hooks the body.  Gomez is going to work in this round.  He's landing punches at will.  Saul looks hesitant.  Gomez ends the round with a nice combo.

Parker: 10-9 Gomez
Tylwalk: 10-9 Gomez 

Round 4
They trade punches to start round 4.  Tough to tell who's getting the best of these exchanges.  Gomez has Saul against the ropes.  Gomez is landing overhand right hands.  Saul comes back but misses.  Gomez lands upstairs again.  Saul lands a right hook.  Now an uppercut.  They trade hooks and uppercuts. They trade down the stretch.  Close round.

Parker: 10-9 Gomez
Tylwalk: 10-9 Gomez 

Round 5
Saul is taking more punches in this fight than I've ever seen him take.  Saul is trying to take more rounds.  He starts a combo.  Gomez answers back with quick punches set up by his jab.  Saul is trying to counter, but his counters are missing.  It's more a testament to Gomez's slick movement.  Saul isn't letting his hands go and Gomez is looking good with movement and punches.

Parker: 10-9 Gomez
Tylwalk: 10-9 Gomez 

Round 6
Alvarez is moving around the parameter of the ring.  Gomez lunges in with with a right hook.  Alvarez dodges.  Saul lands a nice right hand and Gomez covers up.  Neither fighters have done much in this round.  There's a lot of missed punches.  Saul lands a big right uppercut and a big right hand.  Gomez is hurt.  Gomez backs into the ropes and covers up.  Saul is looking to knock Gomez out.  Gomez is taking punches from every angle.  A body hook, an uppercut, left and right hooks.  The ref steps in and it's all over.

The winner by TKO at 2:36 into round 6, still WBC light middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez

The second fight on the televised Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz undercard features future Hall of Famer Erik Morales as he continues his comeback against Pablo Cesar Cano. Morales' opponent was supposed to be Lucas Matthysse until he withdrew due to an illness.

Morales is 51-7 with 35 KOs. He lost to Marcos Maidana in a close, thrilling battle in April but looked very good even in defeat. Cano is 22-0-1 and is making his first appearance outside of Mexico.

Michael Buffer gets us ready for a scheduled 12 rounds with the vacant WBC super lightweight title on the line.


Round 1

Both fighters try some jabs to feel each other out. Our own Max Parker mentioned that Morales looks a little soft. He puts together the first nice combo of the fight. Cano goes downstairs with a right hand. Morales pops the jab, then another one. Cano doubles the left hook off the jab. He lands two counter shots after a Morales body shot. Two left hooks by Cano close out the round.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Cano


Round 2

Some fireworks break out early in this frame. Cano lands multiple right hands amidst a flurry. Morales lands his own right and is greeted by immediate return fire. Cano's quick hands are serving him well here. Erik comes over the top with a right hand. Left hook by Cano in the closing seconds.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Cano


Round 3

Morales seems to have steadied himself in this round. He's slowed the pace and is tighter with his guard. Nice one-two combos by El Terrible. Cano steps into a nice left hand. Morales lands a right cross that is very sharp. Cano uses some jabs to set up his right hand.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Morales


Round 4

Pretty even first minute until a Morales right hand tilts things in his favor. His jab is still a factor as well. Cano seems to be bleeding near his left eye. Morales settles down and lands some big one-two combos. Both men land shots in the center of the ring. Morales' hands don't look that fast, but his fundamentals are so solid.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Morales


Round 5

Morales jabs while Cano tries to counter. Erik's jab is always there when he needs it. Cano pivots around and tries his own jab. Right hand by Morales coming in; left hook by Cano stepping back. Nice flurry by Cano. He looks a bit more confident after retreating for much of the last two rounds. Cano unleashes a stream of punches that has Morales on the defensive along the ropes. Morales goes on the attack with a right hand over the top. The crowd responds as both men let their hands go.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Cano


Round 6

Morales hunts and finds a home for two right hands. Cano tries to settle behind his jab. Morales shrugs off some shots to land a left hook. Cano is seeing a lot of his punches blocked. His movement is still very good. Cano lands a left hook but Morales answers in kind. Quiet end to a close round.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Morales


Round 7

The blood is flowing more heavily from Morales' left eye. Neither man really get the upper hand in the first half of this round. Cano may be getting some courage because of that cut. Morales keeps looking for the right hand. Cano works the body and head in the corner. He lands a right-left combination in the center of the ring.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Cano


Round 8

Morales tries to make things more of a brawl. He chases Cano, landing as he moves. Cano is very bloody as well, and Morales clocks him with two right hands. Cano tries to get his legs under him and throw back. Good round for El Terrible.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Morales


Round 9

Cano is still moving pretty well. He needs to be as Morales is looing for those overhead rights. Both men have been covering up well. Cano has been busier; Morales has landed the harder punches. Morales lands a nice body shot. He has to dodge like crazy to avoid a final flurry.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Morales


Round 10

Cano tries to pick up the pace early. Morales is conserving his movement for when he really needs to step out of the way. Morales lands a stiff jab and several straight rights that force Cano back. His face is really a bloody mess. The referee stops the action so the doctor can attend to Cano's cuts. The action resumes, but blood is still streaming from near his left eye. Give Cano credit for staying game, but one wonders if the fight should be stopped.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Morales

Cano's corner asks the referee to stop the fight after the tenth round, which seems appropriate considering the state of Cano's face.

The winner by TKO at the end of Round 10, Erik "El Terrible" Morales.

Larry Merchant asks Morales if he was worried early on because he seemed to be having some trouble with the younger fighter. Erik says it took him a while to adjust and gain his confidence. Morales does say he thought Cano got nervous once he started bleeding. 

The Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz Star Power televised card is about to get underway. First up is a bout between undefeated Mayweather Promotions fighter Jessie Vargas as he takes on Josesito Lopez.

Vargas is 16-0 with nine knockouts in his young pro career. Lopez enters with a record of 29-3 with 17 KOs.

Michael Buffer handles the fighter introductions, and we're ready to begin.


Round 1

Lopez comes out looking to the body. Vargas tries multiple jabs before eating a series of power shots. Jessie settles down and delivers a crisp three-punch combination. He also shows some elusiveness as Lpez tries to trap hima long the ropes. Nice hook while retreating by Vargas. Both men land a shot or two in the closing seconds.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Vargas


Round 2

Vargas keeps Lopez at bay with jabs. He looks a little more comfortable letting his hands go in this frame. Vargas goes to the body and head out in the center of the ring. Lopez keeps the pressure on and gets in a strong body shot that is answered in kind. Things get a little rough as they wrestle along the ropes. Some big punches just miss before the bell.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Vargas


Round 3

Vargas reaches to the body and comes over the top with a right hand. He flurries and backs off to avoid any counters. Lopez batters his way back to the corner, delivering body shots and hooks. Vargas takes a step back and tries to regain control. The action goes back to the corner, where Lopez has been most effective. They lean on each other and trade. Lopez leans in and lands three straight shots, but Vargas fires back.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez


Round 4

Vargas waves Lopez in as he tries to show he's not bothered by the constant pressure. He's doing more hitting and moving now. Emanuel Steward isn't sure he can keep this up for 10 rounds. Vargas lands a left to the body and ties up. Lopez gets his hands free for some clubbing shots upstairs. He ducks his head and tries to take the fight back to close range. Vargas jabs his way through the closing seconds.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Vargas


Round 5

Lopez tries to step up the pace as he does at the start of every frame. Vargas rides it out and resumes boxing. He loves using the single shot downstairs before clinching. They trade shots along the ropes for a few seconds. Big miss by Lopez. Vargas throws a number of different punches with his back to the ropes, which is serving him well. Lopez smothers Vargas along the ropes, but he doesn't land too much that's flush.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Vargas


Round 6

Lopez walks through some punches to try to assert himself. He pounds away with both hands as Vargas covers up. The ref warns both fighters to keep their punches up. Vargas continues to circle away when he feels trouble. Lopez misses some big punches and Vargas tries to counter. Vargas lands a left to the head but takes two to the body. Lopez appears to be bleeding near his right eye. He pushes Vargas back into the ropes and lands a few more to the body.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez


Round 7

Jim Lampley is making it sound like this is a wide victory for Lopez, but I haven't seen it that way. He has been the aggressor but hasn't always been effective. The cut was caused by an accidental head butt. Vargas returns to his jabs. Lopez lands a nasty left hook in the corner, then a right hand behind it. Vargas throws as he moves, though Lopez is blocking most of the shots. Lopez almost throws Vargas to the mat late in the round. Tricky one to score.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Lopez


Round 8

Lopez comes out firing. Vargas stands his ground and delivers a series of punches, the last of which is very low. The ref takes a point away from Vargas and gives Lopez time to recover. Lopez tries to show he's unfazed as he keeps advancing. Vargas' corner told him to pick it up, and he's trying to do just that. He's still punching as he moves, making Lopez chase him all over the ring. Lopez digs in and tries to get his offense going. He lands a nice left hook at the end of a flurry.

Tylwalk: 9-9


Round 9

Vargas jabs multiple times and gets shoved down by Lopez. Jessie dodges some huge punches before getting his hands going again. Lampley sounds frustrated by Lopez's inability to let his punches flow. Vargas now has some blood showing by his right eye. He strings together a series of head shots that is mostly blocked. Some scrambling down the stretch ends with nothing big landing.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Vargas


Round 10

Vargas opens up with non-stop punches as he tries to finish strong. Lopez blocks most of them but doesn't have much in the way of a response. Lopez is actually backing up a step as Vargas keeps his foot on the gas. Lopez sneaks in a left as they both try to get off. Vargas lands a nice left hook, but Lopez lands a bigger one that stuns Vargas for a second. Lopez may have a shot at a last ditch KO. Both men keep throwing to the final bell, and we'll go to the cards.

Tylwalk: 10-9 Vargas

Tylwalk: 96-93 Vargas

The judges score it 95-94 Lopez, 96-93 Vargas and 95-94 Vargas. The winner by split decision is Jessie Vargas. 

It's Money Time... for the first time in a long time.

Floyd Mayweather resumes his boxing career tonight on HBO pay-per-view. And his opponent for his first fight in 16 months? Well it's not Manny Pacquiao, but it may be one of the next best things in southpaw "Vicious" Victor Ortiz.

The rest of the card isn't too shabby either, with a superstar in the making in Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, a future Hall of Famer enjoying a career renaissance in Erik Morales, and a promising up-and-comer named Jessie Vargas all in action. That's enough flying leather to satisfy just about anyone.

To take it all in, you've got choices: Hop a quick flight to Las Vegas and look for a scalper, buy the PPV or check to see if your local movie theater is putting the card on the big screen. And if all else fails, come back and visit your friends here at BoxingWatchers.com.

We'll be doing live round by round post for all of the televised fights. Bookmark our home page, navigate your way back here after 9 pm Eastern tonight and enjoy. We sure will. 

Nick says...

For all the justifiable hype over Floyd Mayweather as he returns to the ring tonight and the very real props he deserves for taking on a hungry, powerful young opponent who is probably still improving, any real attempt to break down his odds of beating Victor Ortiz really hinges on the answer to two questions: Is Mayweather rusty after (another) lengthy layoff? And at age 34, does he still retain all of his top notch quickness and reflexes? no comments

As boxing pay-per-view event names go, Star Power isn't in my personal top 10. It's also not the worst I've ever heard, and there's no denying it's easy to remember.

That last point is an important one, as Golden Boy has set up the official online merchandise store for tonight's event at StarPowerStore.com. Along with the official Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz event tee pictured here, you'll find several other shirts and a flex-fit hat. Canelo hasn't been left out either, as there is a Saul Alvarez-Alfonso Gomez event shirt as well. And since the site is really just a gateway back to the Golden Boy store, you can even grab some other gear from De La Hoya and friends if you're feeling it.