Floyd Mayweather, Jr. dominated a physically overmatched Juan Manuel Marquez to earn a decisive unanimous decision victory Saturday night at the MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 knockouts), who was fined $600,000 for failing to meet the sanctioned weight for Saturday’s bout by four pounds, returned from a 21-month layoff and looked as sharp as he ever did in the ring.
“I’ve been off for two years, so I felt like it took me a couple of rounds to really know I was back in the ring again,” said Mayweather, 32, who landed an astounding 290 of his 493 punches (59 percent) during the contest. “I know I’ll get better.”
Considering the supreme pugilistic mastery that Mayweather displayed this past weekend, it is hard to believe that he can possibly continue to “get better.”
Despite the fact that Marquez (50-5-1, 37 knockouts) was clearly at a decided size advantage, it was obvious from the outset that he was not even in Mayweather’s league as a fighter.
“Marquez is tough as nails,” Mayweather said. “He’s a great little man. He was really hard to fight, and he kept taking some unbelievable shots.”
Marquez, 36, who moved up two whole weight classes to scrap the man Ring Magazine named their Fighter of the Year in both 1998 and 2007, should not be ashamed by his performance.
“He surprised me with the first knockdown,” said Marquez, who was knocked to the canvas in the second round. “He hurt me in that round. I don’t want to make any excuses, but the weight was the problem. He’s too fast.”
“Pretty Boy” expressed confidence that his skills will be further honed with time and he will be readily prepared to dismantle the next opponent that he ultimately boxes.
At this juncture, it appears likely that Mayweather will encounter the victor of the Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto matchup that is slated to occur on November 14th.
Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 knockouts), the current IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight champion, possesses a brilliant combination of speed and strength and he will likely pose problems for Mayweather.
On the flipside, Cotto (34-1, 27 knockouts) is a relentless and extremely tough warrior and it is safe to predict that the Puerto Rican icon would prove able to absorb any blow Mayweather caught him with.
No matter who eventually prevails in their fight nearly two months from now, both Pacquiao, 30, and Cotto, 28, are blessed with the necessary tools to compete with the “Money Man.”
In any case, Mayweather will be forced to pick on a man his own size the next time he enters a legitimate prizefight.
Keywords: Boxing, Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto
