By Eric Torres: Hello boxing fans, I wake up this morning having pondered the controversial weight in for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez upcoming super-fight and as a fight fan I am very disappointed in Mayweather Jr. and his actions. I have many opinions about Floyd Mayweather Jr. some good and some bad during his illustrious career, but I am writing today to denounce his actions from last nights weight in.
I am very disgusted that the agreed catch weight of 144 pounds was not met by Mayweather Jr. , but was rather altered to a full fledged welterweight fight just minutes leading up to the weigh in. I understand that 140-147 is the welterweight range, but 144 is the weight that by multiple sources and even Marquez’s camp had stated was going to be the target weight for the fight.
In classic Mayweather fashion, he not only made a mockery of the sports sanctioning rules by buying himself out of the contract ( $600,000/ $300k per pound over) and creating a new one, but also made himself look like someone who needed the extra advantage to beat Marquez, who is naturally the smaller man going into this fight.
I think this reflects badly on Mayweather and has to put somewhat of a dent in his comeback after his two year hiatus from the sport. I have never been a fan of “catch weights”, but if it is agreed upon by both parties contractually then the target weight should be met, kept and not bought out of, especially minutes from the weight in.
It is hard to try and rationalize Mayweather’s action, but this does not help him in trying to generate more of a fan base, or in trying to convert the many critics he has into believing he is the greatest to have ever laced up a pair of boxing gloves. In fact I think that this has somewhat tainted his image, his comeback and has given his critics yet another reason to ridicule Mayweather Jr. and his choice of opponents. Most of all it allows his critics to say ” I TOLD YOU SO” and that is something Mayweather has tried to change.
The reality here folks is that after the weight in Juan Manuel Marquez stated that the agreed catch weight was 144 and therefore it should have been met. Marquez did his job by ballooning to 142 for this fight per contract agreement, therefore Mayweather should have done the same being the larger man and most of all agreeing to it verbally and contractually. I take a step back from this fight and can’t help but turn my attention to the Pacquiao and Cotto fight.
What would people say if Cotto comes into the weight in weighting 146-147? They would say how unprofessional he was and that it was the only way he could beat Manny. They would crucify Cotto. This is why I feel Mayweather has his own “rules,”
So I ask you boxing fans, was Mayweathers blatant refusal to come into the weight in at the agreed weight of 144lbs a show of disobedience? Was it a lack of confidence on his part, believing his only way to beat Marquez was to come into the fight at his normal weight? Or has the self proclaimed greatest of all time just decided he is above contracts, rules and sanctioning bodies. If so then I wish he would have stayed retired.
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