by James Slater – Yesterday, at a press conference in Los Angeles, the come-backing Floyd Mayweather Junior was in fine form at the microphone as he talked up his July 18th fight against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez. “Money” also managed to drop in a few lines that referred to how great he is in all-time terms. Though some see the catch-weight 144-pound fight as being nothing more than a very clever bit of “cherry picking” on the part of the 39-0(25) former pound-for-pound king, Mayweather did his best yesterday to convince us all he is coming back against one of the best possible opponents out there.
“Marquez is a hell of a guy,” Floyd said. “They say to be the best you have to beat the best. So we are the two best fighters in the sport right now, so when I come back I don’t want to fight a has-been. I want to fight one of the best in the sport. Marquez is one of the best in the sport.”
Few would disagree with Mayweather’s final line – the man known as “Dinamita” is indeed a truly great fighter.. But is he simply too small for the man who has won a world title as high as junior-middleweight? Floyd’s critics say Marquez IS too small and that Mayweather knows damn well he is. And the Grand Rapids master is a pretty heavy favourite to win in July.
What the fans really want, begging Marquez’s pardon, is a Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. That fight really would see the sport’s two best operators going at it.
Mayweather explained why it took him ten rounds to stop the man his pound-for-pound rival did away with in just 2 rounds back on May 2nd.
“Pacquiao went out there and did what he had to do (against Hatton),” Mayweather said. “But Ricky Hatton didn’t stick to the game-plan. When I knocked out Ricky Hatton, I was stepping backwards with ten ounce gloves. Of course, I’m only human, I’ve given the fans a couple of duff fights but I’ve also given the fans some huge fights, some exciting fights. I just want to be known as one of the best, that’s it.”
Mayweather also explained why he decided to come back after taking a break of 17 months.
“I was really missing just being around the sport,” he said. “I was training every day, going to the fitness gym and to the boxing gym every now and then and working on it anyway, so I said to myself I may as well take it to the next level. I’ve been training for the last two or three months and my camp has been going great. I could box 12 rounds right now but I want to be able to box 12 rounds at a very high speed and pace.
“I’m going to go down in history as one of the best fighters that ever lived. I’m just trying to put extras on my mark in The Hall of Fame. I’m not here to rate myself, I just thank God that he blessed me with the ability that I was blessed with.”
Further press conferences will take place, and the hope on the part of the two fighters is that the tickets will sell out quickly. However, at a whopping $1,000 for a ringside seat to a non-title bout during this, a time of recession, there may be some empty seats in July. Time will tell.