Mayweather vs. Marquez: Does Juan Have a Shot?

By Pablo SOlano: Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez – Big man vs. little man. Right now it doesn’t matter. Oscar De La Hoya was supposed to beat him. Hell, even I thought so. Hatton, well he was bigger but no one really gave him a shot except for Teddy Atlas (very disappointed). Marquez has the tools to beat Mayweather, but can he win? Probably not and here’s why:

Mayweather is athletically gifted, technically sound, and very intelligent in the ring. Think about it; Mayweather has done this since he was kid. This is all Mayweather knows and is great at it there’s no denying it. Mayweather has beaten every opponent that’s been in the ring with him.

My problem (and for many others) has been in the way Mayweather has won some of his fights and the competition Mayweather has chosen to get into the ring with him. Many can agree that the tougher the opposition the more defensive minded he gets and does the things necessary to get the win.

Fights against Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah (albeit because the fiasco that transpired) yes have been exciting, but most of the time Mayweather cruises choosing safety first and not getting into the wars that so many other great fighters are forever remembered for.

I don’t ever remember Floyd being in a fight of the year candidate. Granted, perhaps Mayweather makes his fights look easy but perhaps he gets easy fights as well. Mayweather could have received $8 million to fight Margarito, but instead Mayweather chooses fight Carlos Baldomir.

I mean at this point people really go to see Mayweather’s fights hoping someone will knock him out or beats him by decision. If Mayweather would have fought Margarito that would actually be an exciting fight because as you know Margarito would come right after you all the time for 12 rounds. It would have been interesting to see what Mayweather would have done to keep him off of him.

Mayweather is going to do enough to win the fight against Marquez in their July 18th bout, but here’s what could happen that could make it a memorable night:

Marquez has been known to make the necessary adjustments to shift the momentum towards him. Yes, he is taking a lot of shots these days, but Marquez is resilient and doesn’t throw wild punches. Marquez punches are calculated and accurate which can make this fight very interesting and dangerous for Mayweather if he goes in there trying to go for the knockout.

I think Marquez should play possum and lure him into exchanges that Mayweather would not be comfortable with, but that’s the way I see the fight going. Prediction: Mayweather by split decision.

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