It couldn’t have gone better for us, either. You might call it controversial. I call it ideal.

That fight could have ended in one of two ways:

1) Floyd’s gasp-worthy sucker punch combo lands, Ortiz gets K’d the F O, Mayweather becomes one of the most reviled wangbags in sports history, then engages in one of the greatest ever interviews with Larry Merchant; or …

2) Floyd methodically beats up Victor Ortiz, thoroughly and non-violently, over 12 long rounds.

We got the long end of the stick here. We saw enough of the fight to know, clearly, that Mayweather was the better fighter, and that’s the key ingredient to a satisfying outcome, right? You want to know who was best? We got that. And then, as a special bonus, it turned into one of the most entertaining scenes you’ll ever see in sports, and high-quality conversation fodder that will last for weeks.

We won in this deal. For once, a boxing PPV was worth double what it cost.

As for Ortiz, he was the most fortunate man in the MGM Grand last night. He wanted a way out of that fight, and he got it. He knew he couldn’t win. I think that’s what the blatant, indefensible headbutt was all about.

And then, Ortiz gets done with his guard down, and he becomes a folk hero. He’s a rallying point for every Money May-hater out there. If none of that craziness happens, he’s just another guy who got his ass whooped by Floyd Mayweather, but now, he’s some kind of victim, he’s the “everything that’s right with sports” to Floyd’s “everything that’s wrong”, he’s paid, and he might even be in line for a rematch and another payday.

There was a reason he didn’t get mad at how the fight ended. He knew exactly what was happening to him. He didn’t feel robbed, and he didn’t feel cheated.

The only thing that would’ve been better for his career was a win. But that was never an option.

As for fair or unfair in regards to the punches themselves, I don’t care a great deal. All the obvious things are true: It was unsportsmanlike, it was legal, it is Ortiz’s responsibility to protect himself at all times. It was weird, but it happened. If it had gotten in the way of us knowing who was the better fighter, maybe I’d be more upset about it. But we know.

Also, a note to Larry Merchant: Well-played, my man. I think Merchant was right that Floyd knew a Pacquiao question was coming next, and he went into some theatrics to duck it. I think Merchant, with a bit of a wink, dove into the theatrics with Floyd and gave us the “If I was 50 years younger, I’d kick your ass” line. It was brilliant.

We don’t get a chance to say this very often, but DAMN GOOD SHOW, BOXING.

(I thank you for not updating your bookmarks or RSS reader.)