Can?t these people get their story straight?
Now it?s being said that there is no catch weight arrangement between Tiny Tot Juan Manuel Marquez and full fledged welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The bottom line is you will see a welterweight fighting the smaller man, albeit likely the world?s best at 135 pounds, on July 18 in Las Vegas.
It may seem trifling to kvetch over a four pound difference but that?s not what we?re really talking about in this physical mismatch. With a weigh in the day before the fight, Mayweather will stuff himself and dwarf the Mexican ringmaster on fight night.
We?re talking about a 135 pound boxer against a natural 147 pounder. If we do that math, we?re talking about 12 pounds.
Let me give you an accurate analogy here.
Imagine the outcry, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, if Manny Pacquaio announced that, although he is the world?s premier 140 pound fighter, he is now targeting the featherweight division, that he wants to fight Chris John, Billy Dib or Steven Luevano, all guys whose weight class is 14 pounds less than Megamanny?s.
Or, to be a little less extreme, let?s say Pacman targeted opponents 10 pounds less than his prime weight, guys such as Jorge Linares, Humberto Soto and Cassius Baloyi.
They can take their dog and pony hype show to London or Timbuktu if they want to. But there is no getting around it.
In his comeback, Mayweather is reaching for a piece of cake. This is not Oscar De La Hoya, a junior middleweight at best or a welterweight at worst, fighting Pretty Boy.
This will be the artificially inflated Juan Ma.
He is giving up, when you look at it that way, one natural pound per round.
In all fairness, I would have to say the same thing if Packy was still a lightweight and he fought PBF but Manny went to welterweight to beat a dead horse (Oskie) and then made his mark at 140 with Hatton.
The more I dwell on the size disparity here, the more I see Mayweather?s fistic genius at work.
Not only do I see a resounding Mayweather victory, I see a possible shutout.
Some fights are about the money plus other things.
Marquez-Mayweather is about the money and nothing else, really.
The plan is Mayweather shines and then comparisons will be made.
Look, how easily Floyd beat Marquez. Look how Floyd glided while Manny struggled mightily over 24 rounds against Juan Ma.
Bla, bla, bla.
I could write the Golden Boy postfight script right now.
What won?t be mentioned is that the two Marquez-Pacquiao fights were between two fighters in the same weight division.
Only people who don?t suffer from short term memory loss will miss that.
You would think a 32-year-old man could pick on somebody his own size or even a smaller Pinoy junior welterweight.
Michael is a former sports columnist at the New York Post. He was a criminal defense attorney and worked for sports legends Howard Cosell and Don King. Marley also operates BoxingConfidential.com. Email him your thoughts. He makes it a practice to always recommend Pacland and Philboxing.
