RingTV Poll: Fans say Mayweather acted unethically

The fans who participated in the current RingTV Poll say overwhelmingly that Floyd Mayweather Jr. acted unethically when he delivered the blows that knocked out Victor Ortiz on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

More than three quarters (76.9 percent) of voters say that Mayweather's actions -- punching Ortiz when it appeared he wasn't ready to fight -- were at least somewhat unethical, and more than half (52.9 percent) say that Mayweather was “very unethical." Only 23.1 percent said Mayweather’s acitions were “not unethical.”

Ortiz seemed to believe that he and Mayweather were about to embrace in a conciliatory gesture after Ortiz had intentionally head-butted Mayweather in the fourth round. However, Mayweather took advantage of the opportunity to throw a left hook and – when Ortiz was looking at referee Joe Cortez – a right hand that ended the fight.

Some suggested that Mayweather knew Ortiz wasn’t ready to fight and shouldn't have thrown the blows. Others blamed Ortiz, saying he failed to follow a basic rule in boxing: Protect yourself at all times.

The poll question was: To what degree was the punch that Floyd Mayweather Jr. landed to end his fight against Victor Ortiz unethical?

The options were:

• Very unethical. He knew Ortiz wasn't ready to fight when he threw the punch.
• Somewhat unethical. He was deceptive but acted within the rules.
• Not unethical. Ortiz acted stupidly by letting his guard down and no rules were violated.

Almost 4,000 readers had taken part in the poll as of 2 p.m.

Update (9/20): With nearly 8,000 responses tallied, the results remain steady: 52 percent of readers say "very unethical," 23 percent responded "somewhat unethical," and the remaining 25 percent say Mayweather's actions were "not unethical."