BOSTON — Shawn Thornton has seen his share of fights on the ice, but the Bruins' primary pugilist is no stranger to bouts in the ring.
Thornton, who has boxed since his youth, continues to stay in shape in the offseason with boxing workouts and has developed a friendship with former welterweight champion Micky Ward.
So it should come as no surprise that Thornton has plenty of interest in Saturday's huge showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz in Las Vegas, though Thornton may not be among the fans watching the fight on pay-per-view.
"I'm not sure," Thornton said after the Bruins' practice at the Garden. "I'd like to, but I'm not sure I want to pay 50 bucks to watch Mayweather dance around the ring. He's good at what he does, but I'm always disappointed. I want a slugfest. I'm more of a slugfest guy. That's why I used to like Kelly Pavlik when he was fighting. He used to just stand in there and toss them."
Thornton won't miss too much even if he doesn't watch.
"My financial guy also has Victor Ortiz [as a client]," Thornton said. "He's out there tonight, so I'm going to get updates whether I watch it or not."
Thornton will see be anxious to hear those updates too, and he'll be pulling for the underdog Ortiz. But does Ortiz have a chance against the undefeated Mayweather, who comes in at 41-0?
"I think so," Thornton said. "Then again, I thought the last 40 guys had a chance against Mayweather too and he gets out of there. He's definitely good at what he does."
And Thornton definitely has plenty of respect for what Mayweather, Ortiz and their fellow fighters do in the ring.
"I boxed since I was a kid, so I've always had a respect for it and that hasn't changed," Thornton said. "I haven't talked to Micky [Ward] in a bit. I should give him a shout and see what he thinks of the fight."
