When the dust settled in last Saturdays boxing match, Floyd Mayweather raised his hands in triumph. Juan Manuel Marquez humbly went to his corner knowing that he did everything he could and came out with nothing.
It was not just Floyd’s boxing superiority that decided the outcome of the match, there was the outside circumstances as well. During the official weigh-in Floyd came in at 146lbs, 2lbs over the stipulated weight. There was nothing Juan Manuel Marquez could do because it was in their contract that Floyd can come in up to that weight although he would have to shell out $300,000 for every pound.
True, Marquez came out $600,000 for that infraction but that one infraction virtually wiped out his chances of winning. After the weigh-in, Floyd levelled up and must have weighed close to 160lbs during fight night. Floyd was younger, faster, stronger, and heavier. What chance could Marquez have?
Some experts say that the size factor wasn’t a factor in the fight seeing that Floyd could do everything and his movements didn’t allow Marquez to connect. I beg to disagree. Floyd could do everything during the fight because he never had to worry about losing weight. Giving up $600K seems to be a calculated move for him not to punish his body and be slightly weakened during fight night. He knew that by coming into the ring as comfortably as possible makes his chances of winning airtight. What is $600K when you have a $10M purse? What is $600K when it assures you of a win. Marquez may have won the battle at the scales by coming out richer, but in so doing he lost the war.
That Mayweather didn’t have to worry about weight meant two things. First he wasn’t fighting at a weakened state, he was nimble on his toes all night, no sign of weakness from having to lose weight, and the second but more important thing, he was very, very big which meant that Marquez can hit him all night long and it wouldn’t make a difference. This you can see very clearly in the last rounds when Mayweather would just cover up and ask Marquez to hit him. Marquez was like shooting blanks, no punch he threw made Mayweather wince. You could even think that after everytime Marquez hits him a barrage of punches when he’s covering up, he was just mentally dusting himself off. That’s how ineffective Marquez’ punches were to the significantly bigger Mayweather.
The Juan Manuel Marquez vs Floyd Mayweather fight was also a win-win situation for Marquez. He was fighting a much stronger and bigger man, but he got to get his biggest payday to date. In fighting Mayweather he showed his warrior spirit and losing to Mayweather did not in anyway dent his legacy as one of Mexicos great boxers.
The same is true with Mayweather it was a win-win for him. He was assured of a victory over a name opponent, he picked up the lions share of the purse, and in so doing, he was able to settle his obligations with the IRS. All in a nights work for Money Mayweather.
Moving Forward
Marquez said that he will be campaigning in the 140lbs division and that is a very good decision. He should be getting in there with the likes of Timothy Bradley, and if Valero is willing to go up in weight, a fight with him would be fine as well. Take note that there’s no way in hell that Pacquiao is fighting him now. He would have been a shoo-in had he defeated Mayweather, but with his total defeat, he’s just no that palatable anymore. Perhaps when he clears the 140 division will Pacquiao even take a second look at him again; that is if Manny Pacquiao will still be fighting by that time.
The smart choice for Mayweather would be to wait for Pacquiao but there’s a very big barrier here. Mayweather will insist on getting the lions share and of course will not be fooled into severely losing weight to make it a level playing field. This is one for the books if Arum manages to cook a Pacquiao vs Mayweather recipe. If that happens, the fight should be called Money, Manny, Money. 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Boxing is just like the WWF, made-up. I saw the fight, yes he won by decision, a cream would have been a clear knockout, did not happen. Floyd Mayweather maybe the best boxer of all time to beat up on washed up fighters. So Floyd Mayweather, did not make the weight for the fight, so he heavier than the weight class that he is fighting in, and his opponent was older, shorter and weigh less. Are we impressed that he won, what a charade. Had we seen him come back and defeat Pacman, Cotto, Mosley or Margarito, then maybe he would deserve our attention, till then, snore, snore. Now we find out that this piece of work owes our government millions of dollars. Why should we believe this guy? I guess the rumors are true that he did everything to avoid fighting Antonio Margarito, before his unexpected first retirement, chicken.
EC drop.
Yeah he's worth it if I see him beating up Pacquiao. But I don't think he would have a chance to do that easily. :p