By Manuel Perez: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0, 25 KOs) made it official today that he’s coming back after more than a year away from boxing to fight lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Excuse me if I don’t get excited about the bout, because it seems like another case of Mayweather, a welterweight, finding a smaller opponent that he feels that he can beat.
If the two fighters were roughly the same size, I’d pick Marquez in a second to beat the pants off Mayweather and embarrass him in the fashion. But the fact remains that Mayweather is a lot bigger than Marquez and has a five inch reach advantage over him.
I consider that hardly sporting. Mayweather is in position where he’ll likely fight the winner of tonight’s bout between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao, both of who, like Marquez, are much smaller than Mayweather as well. It sounds like another good, safe fight for Mayweather.
Instead of fighting Pacquiao, Hatton or Marquez, why doesn’t Mayweather fight someone in his own weight class like Paul Williams, Miguel Cotto or Shane Mosley? If you think Mayweather will ever fight any of them, I’d say you’re high because he’s never going to step in the ring with any of them.
I can’t remember the last time that Mayweather had a challenging fight, perhaps when he fought Zab Judah in 2006. I don’t count Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton or Carlos Baldomir, Mayweather’s last three opponents. Hatton was too small and got toyed with before Mayweather took him out in the 10th.
Baldomir was too slow, and Mayweather spent the fight running and pot shotting him. And De La Hoya was too old by the time that Mayweather fought him, and it was another dull fight. But it’s so wrong that Mayweather is now going after smaller fighters exclusively rather than taking on talented welterweights.
The Marquez fight I suppose isn’t all that bad, because Marquez wants the opportunity to get a good payday. I can’t take that away from him because he’s a class act, but I really hate the idea that Mayweather is picking fighters that are much smaller than him to fight. It makes me ill to even think that there will be a possible rematch of Hatton vs. Mayweather if Hatton can somehow get by Pacquiao tonight.
Frankly, that would be a god awful fight and one that boxing fans should boycott, because you know already who’s going to win. Hatton won’t stand a chance no matter how badly he beats Pacquiao tonight. Mayweather is simply too big, too good and way too talented for him to deal with.
Hatton wants the rematch so he can prove something to himself and his fans, but I think he might be better off avoiding Mayweather altogether because he’s just going to end up looking silly again, laying on the canvas and staring up at the lights like last time.
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