It has to be Mayweather
By Daniel Cann
September 18, 2009
(SEPT 18) Saturday, 19th of
September sees an intriguing contest between Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr
(USA) against Juan Manuel Marquez (Mexico). The contest held at the MGM
Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada promises to be memorable. The fight is a
scheduled twelve rounder made at 144 pounds.
Both men are multi-weight World Champions. Marquez is coming off an
impressive ninth round TKO victory over Juan Diaz for the WBO and WBA
Lightweight titles. Mayweather has not fought since his tenth round
dismantling of Ricky Hatton back in December 2007. Yet the odds makers
have installed the American as a 4-1 favourite. This may seem a little
unfair in light of Marquez’s undoubted class and proven pedigree but you
must remember he is stepping up two (yes two) weight divisions to face
Mayweather.
Both men are nearly of equal height, Mayweather is 5’8 to Marquez’s 5’7
(not too much between them there), but, tellingly Mayweather’s reach is
72 inches to Marquez’s 67 inches. The tale of the tape does not settle
fights, but it can help us to understand what tactics a fighter will use
and where the battle is likely to be fought. These are seasoned
professionals who have fought at the highest level for several years and
both will have plenty of tricks up their sleeves and this is what makes
this such a good match despite the weight issue.
It must be remembered that the American began his career as a
super-featherweight and has grown into a Welterweight. He is not a
natural welter then either. I believe that at 36 Marquez may find that
by not having to boil himself down to lightweight will be more of a help
than a hindrance. He can come in at a weight he finds comfortable for
this one, he has had plenty of time to build strength and extra pounds
at a sensible rate. Going from 135 to 144 is not such a huge leap,
although as Britain’s Ricky Hatton found out going up in weight to meet
Mayweather is not an enviable task. But then Marquez is an altogether
different proposition to Hatton. He is not a pressure fighter; rather he
is a slick counterpuncher with fast hands, adept at going to the head
and body. He is shooting for ring immortality here and should be up to
the task.
The fight has been rescheduled (it was originally to take place back in
July) due to a rib injury sustained by Mayweather. If that was the case
then Marquez has an excellent opportunity if he can target Mayweather’s
body. The Mexican as mentioned before is no slouch in going to the body.
If Mayweather has not recovered sufficiently then this could be a big
concern for his camp. That said, the man from Grand Rapids is nobody’s
fool. There have been rumours that the rib injury was a ruse from Team
Mayweather to garner more sales for the show and maybe also to buy their
man more training time. Whatever the truth I doubt Floyd would go into
this huge fight anything less than 100% prepared and ready.
At stake for both men is a huge pot of money in future lucrative
matchups against the best in the lower weights. Neither of them would
consider leaving anything to chance, not these professionals anyway.
Mayweather has recently said that he is continuing (boxing) as he does
not want to be remembered as one of the best but as THE best. A lofty
sentiment. It is surprising that he has left it this long, as the old
saying goes: ‘To rest is to rust.’ Is it possible that at 32 and with
two valuable, possibly peak years lost he may not be as sharp as he used
to be?
The Mayweather of two years ago possessed an excellent ring brain, able
to deconstruct whatever foe was put in front of him, he had fantastic
foot and hand speed and was a defensive master. Anyone facing him was
usually in for a very frustrating and often painful evening. Is he the
same fighter? It is an intriguing question and Marquez is the kind of
fighter to provide us with the answer.
Many experts and pundits feel that perhaps Mayweather has overlooked the
modern Mexican great. They say he may be looking ahead to fights with
the winner of Novembers fight between the ferocious Filipino Manny
Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. The phrase ‘tune-up’ has been used to
describe this contest with Marquez. If Mayweather actually believes this
then he could be in for a very nasty surprise and uncomfortable night.
Marquez has tremendous courage and tenacity as well as skill. His fights
with the aforementioned Pacquiao attest to that. In their first fight,
five years ago Marquez was on the floor three times in the first round,
a disastrous start. Many fighters would have been totally disheartened
or demoralised. Many would not have got back up. But not only did
Marquez get back up he totally out-boxed Pacquiao for many of the
remaining rounds. Most at ringside felt that he deserved more than the
draw he got. That fight reminded me a little of the Archie Moore versus
Yvon Durelle contest when the ‘Old Mongoose’ was knocked down three
times in the first round and looked finished before emerging victorious
in the eleventh round.
The first Pacquiao contest showed that you write Marquez off at your own
peril. Ricky Hatton can vouch for Pacquiao’s power so Marquez’s
performance is all the more impressive for it. The second contest
between the two ended in a controversial split decision points defeat
where again Marquez’s courage and style gave the fast and powerful
Filipino all the trouble he could handle.
A third match with Pacquiao must also motivate Marquez. Not only can he
settle that score, he can also claim the ‘pound for pound mantle’
(assuming both he and Pacquiao emerge victorious in their next
contests). Not only has the Mexican shown his worth in these fights his
record shows impressive wins against the likes of quality opponents
Derrick Gainer, Rocky Juarez, Robbie Peden, Joel Casamayor, Manuel
Medina and Marco Antonio Barrera; How’s that for a resume?
Mayweather’s record is impressive but Marquez’s reads like a ‘Who’s
who?’ of boxing for the lighter weights. Three of his defeats are
arguably questionable, point’s losses to Robbie Peden, Chris John and
Pacquiao. His only other defeat was on his debut where the raw Marquez
was disqualified. Not a clean slate but a very impressive career when
you look at it closely. He was the first man to stop both the tough and
dangerous Cuban Joel Casamayor and former undisputed lightweight World
Champion Juan Diaz. Like I said, impressive.
If we look at Mayweather’s record it is also filled with big names with
wins over the likes of Angel Manfreddy, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis
Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Sharmba Mitchell, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya
and (in his last outing nearly two years ago) Ricky Hatton. He has made
great fighters look ordinary. His style has caused many to get
frustrated, forcing errors and getting pay back from Mayweather with
interest. He is a defensive genius. He knows how to duck, dip, dodge,
roll, cover up at close quarters or to get on his bicycle if the going
gets too hot on the inside. He has a tremendous jab and a devastating
straight right counter over the top.
Mayweather has the best built in radar of almost any boxer I have ever
seen. His instincts are usually spot-on. He manages to take an
opponents’ best game away from them. For example, in his fight with
Hatton he was out body punching the body puncher. He is excellent at
making another boxer fight the wrong kind of fight. Boxers with the
calmest of temperaments have lost their rag against him and been forced
into making mistakes. Marquez is a canny experienced pro, but he will
have to be careful in not letting Mayweather take him out of his stride
or away from his game plan.
This is what I find the most fascinating about this match-up. There are
so many unknowns and imponderables. Will Mayweather find a way to make
Marquez the natural counter-puncher come forwards on the attack against
his better judgement? Perhaps the only way for the Mexican to box
Mayweather is to go forwards, cutting the ring down and using pressure?
If that is the case then it really will be a style change for Marquez
against the master stylist.
Marquez can box as well as fight; he is no one dimensional pressure
fighter. He is perfectly placed to test Mayweather to see if the
American still ‘has it.’ He can and will exploit any mistakes a rusty
Mayweather may make. Marquez is no tune up; rather he is a fiercely
proud, ferocious, relentless technician with a huge heart and bags of
stamina. He is not the kind of fighter I would select for a ring rusty
boxer. That said I’m sure Team Mayweather know what they are doing. You
do not take a risk without being confident of winning.
This is a real head scratcher and not the foregone conclusion some
think. I find myself choosing Mayweather. Not out of confidence but
based on past experience where he has displayed peerless skill. I
believe his size, speed, style and ability to wrong foot and frustrate
even the best will see him to victory. Marquez is undoubtedly a modern
Mexican Great and victory here will elevate his legacy hugely but I feel
he, like others before him, will find Mayweather too much of a puzzle to
solve. For me it will be an absorbing rather than thrilling contest with
Marquez losing a gallant points decision in a close technical fight for
the connoisseur.
