Mayweather-Marquez: Will Floyd Be His Usual Boring Self?
August 26th, 2009
By Dave Lahr: On September 19th, I’m wondering which Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0, 25 KO’s) will show up – sharp shooting welterweight or the painfully boring safety first runner. If history is any guide, we’ll be seeing Mayweather at his worse as he bores the pay-per-view audience to tears by avoiding any meaningful exchanges with Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4, 37 KO’s) and looks to win by the fight with a hunt and peck offensive style.
Instead of going after the fighter that people want him to see him fight, Mayweather decides to fight a pumped up lightweight. If the fight ends up boring boxing fans, it won’t be on the count of Marquez, because he always seems to make sure that he gives the fans their monies worth when he fights.
Marquez may be a counter puncher like Mayweather, but Marquez isn’t shy about taking the fight against his opponents. Marquez doesn’t circle the ring like Mayweather does at a gallop. Marquez will stand his ground and be looking to make the most of every opportunity that is given to him.
With Mayweather, it’s really hard to tell what we’re going to get. To be sure, Mayweather looked great in his last fight two years ago against Ricky Hatton, taking advantage of the British fighter’s lack of defense by punishing Hatton when he would attempt to throw his big hooks.
However, Hatton was a tailor made opponent for Mayweather and someone that was designed for Mayweather to look good against. Mayweather looked mediocre and boring against Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007, beating De La Hoya by a listless 12-round split decision. The same goes for Mayweather’s bout against Carlos Baldomir in November 2006, a fight in which Mayweather sprinted around the ring in the later rounds trying to avoid getting hit by Baldomir.
Before that, Mayweather looked bad in his 12 round decision victory over Zab Judah in April 2006. Mayweather showed a limited work rate in that fight and had me wanting to walk out of the fight. In each case, Mayweather won but it was really boring to watch. Earlier in Mayweather’s career, he was exciting to watch and unafraid to open up with his offense.
Mayweather looked great against Sharmba Mitchell, Arturo Gatti, Henry Bruseles, DeMarcus Corley and Phillip N’dou. Back then, Mayweather was an offensive machine throwing lots of blazing fast punches in every round. Something changed with Mayweather three years ago starting in 2006.
Mayweather became suddenly a safety first, timid, dull fighter to watch all of a sudden. The Hatton fight was a brief interruption in a pattern of dull fights for Mayweather. I’m really hoping that Mayweather can continue to look good in his fight with Marquez next month, but I’m really not counting on it.
Tags: 20 Responses to “Mayweather-Marquez: Will Floyd Be His Usual Boring Self?”
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yes the most safety first boxer around will overlook his opponents key attributes come there fight september. unlike any other fight he has fought he will walk straight into a battle with jmm…can you sense the sarcasm. mayweather will prob dance around for the first 5 round movin in and out then after that i see him breaking down a tired and weary jmm
agreed with mario….underestimating JMM will hurt pretty boy…
I believe Mayweather will come to fight unlike most of the comments I’ve read. You all must remember that Mayweather has been out of the game for over two years. He will try to bring the fight to Marquez due to his bigger size, it will be a mistake. Mayweather will go down underestimating Marquez’ punching power.
Floyd is boring to watch. That is why his PPV is not selling. He uses his jab and running ability to win boring UD’s. With Hatton he called him up to 147 instead of 140 and then he used the power punch and clinch technique. Why does he keep calling out lighter champions? He doesn’t want to fight legitimate welterweights because he is scared.
have people forgot about castillo, corales, gatti and judah not exactly ligth competition. fair enough to say that the first castillo fight was close but 2nd fight he got clattered, same with corales and gatti, judah also was doin alright untill it got to the later round where floyd usually decides to pick up the pace
mayweather simply does not allow any fighters to fight their fight on the inside. Isn’t that the sign of a master technician? LOL
camansi Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
boxing gets money from fans…fans does’nt need to be an expert to appreciate boxing…accept it…floyd is boring on an average boxing fan…if boxing will rely on experts…it will die…the only thing that keeps boxing alive is an average fans…fans today pay to see action and entertainment…paying to watch a boring fight is unfair…
………………
Completely agreed, it’s the casual fan that is keeping boxing alive today. Most people I know who casually follow boxing will wax lyrical about Mayweather but have not seen many, if any (Hatton excluded) of his fights. There is no doubt that he is boring for most people.
Personally I dont mind so long as I see a fair and technical fight. My concern is that he is fighting a much smaller guy. He should be able to overwhelm Marquez without too much bother and I will feel cheated if he runs for half the fight.
Lastle, Mayweather is clearly was off the biggest draw in boxing. He was very clever in fighting DLHoya and Hatton, much bigger draws in my opinion.
Ahhhh. Mayweather haters. It’s easy to sit back in your recliners and say a fighter is boring. I do challenge you to get in the ring and give boxing a try. You will see how difficult is and that there are many styles of fighting. Have you ever heard the term “sweet science?” Probably not. Most boxers are unable to display this talent so they revert to a brawling style of fighting. Is it what the fans want to see? Some fans maybe, but there are just as many fans that like to watch a fighter display the skills of the art. That’s the key to remember—Boxing is an art form. The art is to hit without getting hit.
Any one who says stupid comments like They appreciate Mayweathers boxing style is a fool 1st of all its boring second of all hes never been tested by a inside fighter nd pressure fighter such as Ricky Hatton wer da ref was breakin dem apart every second wen dey wasnt even clinchin wat i fought was very weird,nd third of all if its such a sweet style of boxing den why doesnt he fight the best of welterweight instead of goin for Marquez someone whoes been reitred longer den himself nd doesnt usaly fight at welterweight.
i’m not a fan of mayweather the person, however you can’t argue that as a boxer he’s as good as it gets. to hit and not be hit is what it’s all about. ok sometimes his fights are not always the best to watch. but he’s a technician at the top of his game. for the record i’m english and a hatton fan but mayweather tought hatton a lesson in boxing and i think he’ll keep doin this to every opponent
This is in response to 4thQuarterMusic.
Maybe Pacquaio gave the blueprint on how to beat Marquez. and that is,
Don’t fight Marquez toe-to-toe or else you’ll get a controversial result. Instead jab and run..
Oh, that’s Mayweather style.. so we’ll surely expect Mayweather to decisively win through his run & hide tactic.
What a great show!! makes me laugh!!
if that happens, Marquez would surely be greatful that he lost to a controversial decision to a real fighter in Pacquaio than to a runningman Mayweather. Marquez will surely loss to Mayweather in a sprint competition.
Pretty Boy Floyd wont be so pretty after Marquez is through with him.
Manny had a lot of trouble with JMM and if a guy like JMM can keep up with Manny then no doubt will he expose Floyd.
Floyd’s got great defense but is running away considered defense…c’mon Floyd..give us what we want and get into some fisticuffs with JMM — I sure hope it won’t be a boring fight!!
speaking of which – what’s everyones predictions for this?
I’m thinking JMM tko in the 9th.
your thoughts?
It’s very funny sitting here reading a lot of these comments on Floyd being boring, running, & scared of Manny Pacquiao, so on & so on. If any of you grew up watching boxing or actually boxed in a ring not at your school or in a gang, like Marvin said, with boxing, the name of the game is to hit & not be hit, win titles, & make millions. A lot of fighters are shot before they get a chance to make millions because they always try to do what the fans want. Even though the fans pay to see the fights, they should respect the sweet science. One thing that I can say is that Floyd Mayweather earned his spot. He doesn’t run or duck from anyone. Ask Shane Mosley who turned down Floyd 3 times. Oh I almost forgot, Coto turned him down too. Both gave excuses on why they were not ready to fight him. I have proof of that. If it don’t make dollars it don’t make sense. As for Manny, Floyd said that Manny never called him out, plus he is promoted by Bob Arum in which Floyd doesn’t want to do any business with Top Rank because he is still owed millions from dealing with Arum throughout his career. That’s why he bought himself out of his contract with Top Rank. If the fight happens, Floyd will knock Manny out. Can anyone name any great fights that Manny Pacquiao has had outside of Marquez? Please don’t bring up dehydrated De La Hoya, or a shot Hatton. If Manny would have fought the De La Hoya that fought Floyd, there would have not been a stoppage from the stool. Manny may have won but it would have went 12 rounds. Hatton was destined to get knocked out again because it’s just like driving, if you get instructions on how to drive and have practiced for months, then you take your test & then go out there & drive reckless, more than likely you are going to get hit, and that’s what happened. Also people forget that Floyd fought Hatton’s style most of their fight, & exposed to the world that a left hook can end it for Hatton, & that gave the blueprint on how to beat Hatton. We will see what will happen in the next 6 months. We will see how many fighters call out Mayweather while he’s active & back in the sport instead of when he announced his retirement then all of these fighters want to call him out.
floyd got skills and he got brains, he’s playing his cards the right way, he will not get suckered into draining himself just to be in the ring with pac. pacs last three fights he didn’t prove anything but beat a dehydrated odlh, a shot hatton and a the weakest lt welter diaz, yet he got the props. people turned a blind eye on the fact that jmm schooled pac and was robbed 2x. i say if pac wants to prove himself, fight the ‘real’ p4p floyd… and get murdered in the process. lol. wait… floyd will not get the chance coz cotto will do it on nov 14. lol.
to dan,
pacquiao did reply, you idiot!
Philip H. Anselmo, Mayweather said he’d pay Marquez a million to step aside if Pac wants the fight… Pac didn’t even reply
a lot of people put mayweather down by saying he gives boring fight.and that he avoids a lot of punch exchanges.well i grew up boxing and was trained to hit and not be hit and don`t punch with a puncher that hit hard.so what i am trying to say is fight your fight and win the way you know how too and not the way people won`t you to.
the name of the game is to win.because a lot fighters became shot fighers and took a lot of career ending punishment fighting the peoples fight and not there own..just my thoughts.
Floyd wouldn’t have taken the Marquez fight if he didn’t think he’d look good and win big. That’s the deal, period.
Hey, I’m a boxing purist and adore a great ring tech (see Pernell Whitaker), but as of late, Floyd is super-overrated. Look at his biggest victories;
Is barely defeating an over-the-hill Oscar supposed to be a great accomplishment? And in his most publicized win, over Ricky Hatton, isn’t the welterweight champ supposed to beat the Jr. welter champ? By the way, both fights were boring. The most memorable things were that Oscar quit throwing his jab after the 6th, and Hatton’s fans kept singing after their man was stopped.
Picking Juan, who IS rated #2,3(?) on most PFP lists, was an easy, easy choice for Floyd at this stage of his career.
The reason?
Floyd IS bigger than Juan, so in his mind, Juan is an easy fight! Floyd damn-well knows Juan is a featherweight-come-lightweight. Let’s hope Marquez can break through and knock some ring rust off Mayweather so things get interesting. Juan looks tailor-made for Floyd style-wise, but Marquez is not to be underestimated. He will come to fight.
Floyd didn’t, and still hasn’t called out #1 PFP Manny P.
The second he said the word “comeback” the name “Manny” should’ve been in the same sentence.
Perhaps fight fans aren’t buying this PPV event for that very reason.
PA
boxing gets money from fans…fans does’nt need to be an expert to appreciate boxing…accept it…floyd is boring on an average boxing fan…if boxing will rely on experts…it will die…the only thing that keeps boxing alive is an average fans…fans today pay to see action and entertainment…paying to watch a boring fight is unfair…
I’m a big Marquez fan but this is partly why I believe he will lose. Marquez is the type of guy who fights for his country and his fans so I have a feeling he will get forced to play the aggressor, and as a result, will get lured into Floyd’s defensive traps. Floyd fights to keep his undefeated record intact because that’s the only way he can justify his ridiculous purses. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.