Floyd Mayweather Jr. puts his unbeaten boxing record on the line when he comes out of retirement to face Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, Sept. 19 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.
Mayweather is the favorite heading into the catchweight-fight at 144 lbs. with a betting line of -350 while Marquez has a line of +275 according to online sports book Sports Interaction. The fight card begins at 9PM ET on Pay-Per-View. Here is a closer look at both boxers heading into this fight.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0, 25 KO’s)
Strengths: Mayweather is unbeaten for a reason. He is considered by many as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. His speed and strength combination are as great as the sports has ever seen. Mayweather has fought in multiple weight classes and succeeded at each. His smart style of fighting has allowed him to beat some of the best in the world. Mayweather has been raised on boxing since childhood and doesn’t take his responsibilities in the ring lightly.
Weaknesses: Mayweather has not fought since Dec. 8 of 2007 against Ricky Hatton, which was a 10th round KO win. Mayweather then retired, but has decided to return to the ring for a pair of big-money fights in the making. First is with Marquez, but the next could potentially be with Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather didn’t pick an easy fight to open with as Marquez has 50 professional victories. This fight was scheduled to take place in July, but a rib injury pushed the fight back to next Saturday. If the injury still exists, it could be very detrimental to Mayweather’s return.
Last Five Fights:
10th Round TKO win over Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8, 2007
Split decision win over Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007
Unanimous decision win over Carlos Baldomir on Nov. 4, 2006
Unanimous decision win over Zab Judah on April 8, 2006
6th Round TKO win over Sharmba Mitchell on Nov. 19, 2005
Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KO’s)
Strengths: Marquez has great power in his hands as well and uses very accurate punches to work his opponents before delivering the knockout blow in the later rounds. Marquez has won by TKO in his last two fights and this is his opportunity to really establish himself as one of the top fighters in the world. Marquez will be the fresher fighter and not have the rust that Mayweather may have, with Marquez’ last fight coming on Feb. 28.
Weaknesses: Marquez lost a close decision to Pacquiao in 2008 and his fight with Mayweather is as big a fight as he has had in his career. Mayweather has a lot more marquee-fight experience while Marquez is looking to emerge as a “big money” fighter. Marquez may not have fought someone with the combination of speed and power like Mayweather, unless Pacquiao really can compare to the unbeaten Mayweather.
Last Five Fights:
9th Round TKO win over Juan Diaz on Feb. 28, 2009
11th Round TKO win over Joel Casamayor on Sept. 13, 2008
Split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao on March 15, 2008
Unanimous decision win over Rocky Juarez on Nov. 3, 2007
Unanimous decision win over Marco Antonio Barrera on March 17, 2007
Who will win: Every time Mayweather seems to be in a difficult fight where he could suffer his first loss, he seems to put on an even more impressive performance than his previous fight. I think Mayweather knows what he is getting himself into. I don’t think he would take a fight that he felt he could lose and let his career get tarnished like Roy Jones Jr. Mayweather has had a long layoff, but his conditioning and agility doesn’t seem affected. I again think Mayweather sees the dollar signs for a fight with Pacquiao down the road and he will make sure he is in top form for this fight with Marquez.
Additional Line: Over/Under 11.5 rounds for fight length. Under (Even) Over (-140)
Additional Fight: WBA Featherweight Championship: Chris John (-325) vs. Rocky Juarez (+250)
Source: thespread.com
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