Re: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1) [18-Jul-09] (HBO PPV Manny Pacquiao is the most popular boxer in the world this week, having easily defeated top contender Ricky Hatton over the weekend. Rumours suggest that Pacquiao's next opponent will be the winner of this upcoming bout between Mayweather Jr., coming out of a brief retirement, and Juan Manuel Marquez, defeated by Pac-Man in March of 2008. Realistically, Pacquiao must be hoping for Mayweather to dominate this fight. Not only does a Mayweather/Pacquiao fight mean huge money for both fighters, the likes of which not seen since Mayweather fought an aged Oscar de la Hoya in 2007, but it cements the legacy of either fighter as the greatest of their generation, and gives undeniable weight to their arguments for pound-for-pound king.
Re: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1) [19-Sep-09] Ok, so Pretty Boy puts his undefeated record back on the line tomorrow night in a fight that appeals to boxing purists but lacks marquee status. Mayweather and Marquez are both best as counter punchers so at some point in this bout one of these guys will have to take initiative. Odds are it will be Marquez, who has considerably less to lose. Mayweather is coming into the fight at 146lbs., two higher than originally agreed upon. Nobody said shit so one should assume Marquez got a bump in pay to accept the extra weight being put against him. Marquez is already going up two weight classes for the fight so this extra slap by Mayweather shows a decided lack of sportsmanship. The fight has a bit of competition for viewership with football and a UFC event going down tomorrow night. They are putting the fight on in some 200 theatres (reportedly) in order to get more people to watch. It may be because spending $50+ on an event that may feature two guys ballroom dancing sounds not so good. Mayweather hasn't fought in almost two years but he's still the heavy favourite--emphasis on heavy--and should transition into a fight with Pacquiao following this bout. Emphasis on should.
Re: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1) [19-Sep-09] I can't see Marquez knocking Floyd out - PBF doesn't get hit that much, but even when he does his chin is solid. It's also hard to imagine Marquez outboxing Floyd, but I wouldn't say he has "no shot". Marquez is about as hungry for this fight as any fighter I've ever seen. And this is a guy who fought Manny Paq to a virtual draw twice. The only way he can win this fight is if he is able to put pressure on PFB and make him engage in some heavy exchanges. Oscar did a good job of bringing the fight to Floyd for about 2/3 of that fight. But he ran out of gas like he always does. And he abandoned the jab that was neutralizing Floyd's speed. And he stopped pressing the action late in the fight after Floyd tagged him a few times. Marquez doesn't have the power of Oscar, but he's got more endurance and more heart. De La Hoya doesn't like to get hit, he's admitted as much. I think Marquez would love to turn this into a back yard brawl. Question is - can he do that? Probably not. Floyd's too smart. But it's still an interesting fight to me. I think PBF wins, maybe 8 rounds to 4. It's not going to be a mismatch like when he fought Gatti or Corrales.
After the fight broadcasting badass Max Kellerman basically called out PBF for not fighting guys at his own weight, then Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley got into the ring and a ruckus ensued. Prearranged, perhaps.
so, Mayweather is big enough to fight guys like Hopkins and Mosley? I always thought Hopkins was a huge motherfucker.
Hopkins fights at 170-175, much bigger than Mayweather (147), so you're right. But Mosley is in PBF's weight class. Pacquiao is one class below at 140. The common argument is that P4P bests have to fight ABOVE their weight class to prove their rank, not below, which is what PBF has been doing. In fact Mayweather hasn't fought a top ten fighter in his own weight class, even.
I won't completely respect Mayweather until he fights people his size, not people who jump weight classes to fight him.
PBF won't man up. He's a bitch. He wants to fight Pacman now. Another undersized fighter. God, I hope Pacquiao can floor him.
Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports is reporting that this fight drew well over one million PPV buys, perhaps as many as 1.6m. HBO will release the official figure soon.