By Dave Lahr: In last night’s HBO Mayweather-Marquez 24/7, episode 1 special, Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4, 37 KO’s) summed up his September 19th opponent Floyd Mayweather Jr. pretty well, saying “ He’s a fighter that doesn’t like to be hit.” Marquez made it clear that he intends on hitting Mayweather as frequently as he can and he will be hoping to be one of the few fighters that have put hands on Floyd.
Before last night’s Mayweather-Marquez special, I gave Marquez, 36, little chance in the fight. But I’m seeing things differently now that I’ve seen Marquez in training and see the results of his training to add muscle to his previously small 135 pound frame.
At around 145, Marquez looks much more solid and powerful that he did while fighting as a lightweight. Just looking at how Marquez has put on muscle to his frame, I don’t think this is going to be an easy fight for Mayweather, If Mayweather is going to win this fight, he’s going to have to look much better than he has in long time.
The Mayweather that defeated Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya will likely have a lot of problems against this version of Marquez, simply because Marquez is so much better in terms of boxing skills and physically than either Hatton or De La Hoya were.
De La Hoya was an old 35 at the time of the fight with Mayweather, and was a part time fighter having fought only three times in the past three years when he stepped in the ring against Mayweather. De La Hoya had lost to Shane Mosley in 2003, beaten Felix Sturm under questionable circumstance in 2004, been stopped by Bernard Hopkins in September 2004, and then took two years off before coming back to beat Ricardo Mayorga in May 2006.
De La Hoya then took another year off before facing Mayweather. With that much time off, is it any wonder that De La Hoya lost the fight. Hatton never really did have sound boxing skills and his constant fluctuating weight seemed to be taking a lot out of him each time that he would enter a fight. Hatton and De La Hoya both had to take weight off in order to fight Mayweather.
Marquez, however, is having to put weight on, meaning that he’ll be stronger rather than weaker. This won’t be a weight drained fighter that Mayweather will be facing. Marquez is going to be the strongest that he’s been in his career and a lot more dangerous than Hatton, De La Hoya, Carlos Baldomir, Zab Judah, Sharmba Mitchell, Arturo Gatti and Henry Bruseles, all of which account for Mayweather’s last seven opponents.
Mayweather will need to be better than he was in the past, but with the disadvantage of coming off of a two year retirement for this fight. In watching Mayweather train last night on the 24/7 episode, Mayweather looks like he’s lost a little in terms of speed. And that’s just looking at him train. Mayweather likely has lost much more in the way of timing and stamina, and he’ll be facing someone that is going to be putting a lot of pressure on him in the way of Marquez.
“He’s [Mayweather] is a fighter that doesn’t like to be pressured,” Marquez pointed out last night. Obviously, Marquez is planning on pressuring Mayweather on September 19th. I expect Marquez to be much more calculated in the pressure he puts on Mayweather and won’t go blindly trying to throw leaping left hooks the way that Hatton did in his fight against Mayweather.
Marquez is much more disciplined that that, so Mayweather is going to have to earn whatever he gets from Marquez the hard way. Mayweather won’t be winning the fight by some cheap check hook gimmick, because that move won’t fly against Marquez’s style.
If Mayweather is going to win this fight then he’s going to have to outwork Marquez in a war, because Marquez is going to be landing and making Mayweather feel pain like he never has before.
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