By Eric Thomas: According to the latest boxing news, Floyd Mayweather Jr’s (39-0, 25 KOs) comeback fight just got a little easier today as his opponent Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, (50-4-1, 37 KOs) a 135-pound lightweight, will now have to move up in weight to fight Mayweather at 147 rather than the previously agreed upon weight of 143. Ring Online broke the news about the new 147 pound weight limit for the July 18th fight between Marquez and Mayweather at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
However, it’s doubtful that this will change the outcome of the fight that much, because it’s only four pounds and Marquez is coming up in weight rather than moving down. It’s much easier for fighters to eat a little more and put on more muscle than it is to have to strip muscle off to fight at lower weight classes, as most fighters already know.
Marquez, 35, who will be getting his biggest payday of his long 16-year pro career, is reportedly putting on extra muscle by lifting heavy rocks in the mountains and eating more protein in an effort to get bigger and stronger for Mayweather.
The negative part about Marquez having to put on more weight is that Marquez only recently moved up from super featherweight to the lightweight division in September 2008 last year in stopping Joel Casamayor in the 11th round in a really close fight.
Marquez then followed this victory with an impressive 9th round stoppage over former IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Diaz in February 2009. At 5’7”, Marquez wasn’t nearly as dominant at lightweight as he was while fighting as a super featherweight, but in having to move up to welterweight to face Mayweather, 32, it’s going to be awfully tough on Marquez to overcome that hurdler.
However, Marquez does have a couple of advantages over Mayweather in that Floyd has been out of boxing for the past two years in retirement spending the millions of dollars that he made in fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and in a WWE wrestling match.
The time off can’t have helped Mayweather’s boxing skills any. Also, Mayweather hasn’t taken on a true quality opponent for quite some time dating back to his two fights with Jose Luis Castillo in 2002. Mayweather appeared to have lost the first fight but was given what many boxing fans feel was a gift decision.
Mayweather fought well in the rematch, beating Castillo by a narrow decision. Mayweather’s opponents since that date have left a lot to be desired, with wins over Zab Judah, Arturo Gatti, Phillip N’dou, Sharmba Mitchell, DeMarcus Corley, Victoriano Sosa, Carlos Baldomir, De La Hoya, Henry Bruseles and Ricky Hatton.
Although De La Hoya obviously was a great fighter through much of his career, by the time that Mayweather fought him Oscar was a shell of his former self. The same goes for Hatton, although his talent was more questionable because his victories were over many lesser fighters with his best win coming in a wrestling type bout with a faded 36-year-old Kostya Tszyu in 2005.
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