after watching more of Marquez and Mayweather.

[Taeth]

The aggressor in this fight might likewise be the winner... therefore a draw is not too far fetched!

Catch Weight (weight-in 144)

Time of fight:
Marquez works hard n the Gym? 140ish
Mayweather 152-154

Marquez gets hit by a guy ~14 lbs weighing more than him.... do the math!

When has Mayweather ever weighed 152-154? The most he ever weighed in at was 150 for Oscar, and he actually lost a pound come fight night by unofficial reports (He wanted to weigh-in, but Oscar didn't want to show how much bigger he was(which was reportedly 163ish). I have never seen Mayweather fight at more than 6 pounds heavier than the weigh-in. That means there will be no significant weight difference between him and Marquez, Mayweather hasn't had to dehydrate for a weigh-in since fighting at 135. Since then he has always weighed in, within 3 pounds of what he entered the ring at.

Besides in terms of weight, its only a disadvantage for Mayweather weigh more. He wants to be as quick as possible because thats where his advantage lies, and Marquez being naturally smaller actually has an advantage in weighing less because it will give him better speed. Weight helps with 2 things 1) Strength 2) Power. Mayweather won't hit harder than Marquez at 143 because he doesn't really sink into his shots, and he doesn't physically impose himself on guys so his strength won't play a huge factor in the fight.

What will is his talent. These are two p4p greats, and this fight will be decided on who is the better boxer, and IMO Mayweather isn't vastly superior, but clearly superior, and too much quicker.

[brucelee]

Much as I would like Marquez to win this fight, my head says Mayweather is likely to TKO Marquez in the late rounds.

MAyweather has all the apparent advantages ( height, reach, speed, and even skill). No doubt Marquez has sweet counter punching but PBF has all the defensive skills to neutralize that.

This has the making of a boring fight to casual boxing fans but for me, this is one very exciting fight.

Regardless of who will win in this fight, imagine the fight that will come after this.

PBF vs Pac . Whew!!!!

Pac vs JMM. A trilogy to settle once and for all.

I'm salivating!!!

[SweetPea]

Here's an overly simple way to look at it:

Marquez just had a life-and-death fight with Juan Diaz. And I think we'd all agree that there's a significant gap between a 135-pound Juan Diaz and a ~144-pound Floyd Mayweather.

While I agree 100% on your view (and who wouldn't)

It can easily be countered with styles.

There is a significant gap between the style that Diaz brings and the style that PBF brings.
Unless you expect PBF to come out like Diaz.

Styles make fights, for sure.

But as a counterpuncher, I think Marquez does better against someone like Diaz who comes right at him and gives him countering opportunities, as opposed to someone like Floyd.

[Taeth]

It just makes me mad that right now the size difference between Mosley and Mayweather is probably greater or at least the same as Mayweather against Marquez, and Mosley would definitely use his size against Mayweather, yet nobody would talk about Mayweather being at a huge disadvantage, nor would that be considered a elligible excuse if Floyd were to lose to Mosley. Mayweather because of his skill and speed is automatically assumed to have every advantage over bigger guys, smaller guys, guys the same size as him. I can't think of one time in his fights against Baldomir, De La Hoya, and/or Hatton where people couldn't make an excuse. De La HOya was way past his prime and didn't jab enough despite the fact he just destroyed Mayorga and had a belt at 154 a weight that was way above Mayweather natural weight class. Baldomir was 14 pounds heavier than Mayweather and people seemed to forget that when Mayweather was able to make him look stupid. When MAyweather was fighting at 140 Hatton was considered to be bigger and stronger than anything/anybody Mayweather had ever faced, but when Mayweather moved up even more it was Hatton who was at a disadvantage because 147 wasn't his natural weight, despite that fact that Mayweather was 2 or 3 weight classes above what he could have been.

I for one am glad that MAyweather is facing Marquez instead of Cotto or Mosley, I would like to see him fight somewhere that isn't off the ropes once again, see him in an actual boxing fight where its not a some huge guy who uses largely their size and strength to try and bully Mayweather around as he potshots them and makes them miss off the ropes which half of the boxing fans don't appreciate. I've seen Mayweather do this the last 3 fights, and I want to see him stick that great jab he has, lean back and counter over his opponent's jab, or throw combinations with mean intention because he knows the guy is his size and they won't walk through anything he can dish out. Hatton was closer to Mayweather's size, but because he bum rushed Mayweather like he was suppose to, Floyd wasn't able to get off quite like he will be able to against Marquez. Against Oscar, mayweather largely stood his ground, but Oscar fought well defensively and was too powerful it seemed for Mayweather to be comfortable enough to let his hands go, it wasn't until late that MAyweather actually did let leather fly, and predictably Oscar had no answers. Against Baldomir, Mayweather landed anything he wanted and when his hand was hurt he was still too fast for Carlos to land anything.

I really hope/think Marquez will bring out the best in Floyd, even if its not overly competitive, I think Floyd will bring his A-game like he always does, but he will actually be able to implement the offensive arsenal that he hasn't shown since the Judah fight.

[blegit]

It just makes me mad that right now the size difference between Mosley and Mayweather is probably greater or at least the same as Mayweather against Marquez, and Mosley would definitely use his size against Mayweather, yet nobody would talk about Mayweather being at a huge disadvantage, nor would that be considered a elligible excuse if Floyd were to lose to Mosley. Mayweather because of his skill and speed is automatically assumed to have every advantage over bigger guys, smaller guys, guys the same size as him. I can't think of one time in his fights against Baldomir, De La Hoya, and/or Hatton where people couldn't make an excuse. De La HOya was way past his prime and didn't jab enough despite the fact he just destroyed Mayorga and had a belt at 154 a weight that was way above Mayweather natural weight class. Baldomir was 14 pounds heavier than Mayweather and people seemed to forget that when Mayweather was able to make him look stupid. When MAyweather was fighting at 140 Hatton was considered to be bigger and stronger than anything/anybody Mayweather had ever faced, but when Mayweather moved up even more it was Hatton who was at a disadvantage because 147 wasn't his natural weight, despite that fact that Mayweather was 2 or 3 weight classes above what he could have been.

I for one am glad that MAyweather is facing Marquez instead of Cotto or Mosley, I would like to see him fight somewhere that isn't off the ropes once again, see him in an actual boxing fight where its not a some huge guy who uses largely their size and strength to try and bully Mayweather around as he potshots them and makes them miss off the ropes which half of the boxing fans don't appreciate. I've seen Mayweather do this the last 3 fights, and I want to see him stick that great jab he has, lean back and counter over his opponent's jab, or throw combinations with mean intention because he knows the guy is his size and they won't walk through anything he can dish out. Hatton was closer to Mayweather's size, but because he bum rushed Mayweather like he was suppose to, Floyd wasn't able to get off quite like he will be able to against Marquez. Against Oscar, mayweather largely stood his ground, but Oscar fought well defensively and was too powerful it seemed for Mayweather to be comfortable enough to let his hands go, it wasn't until late that MAyweather actually did let leather fly, and predictably Oscar had no answers. Against Baldomir, Mayweather landed anything he wanted and when his hand was hurt he was still too fast for Carlos to land anything.

I really hope/think Marquez will bring out the best in Floyd, even if its not overly competitive, I think Floyd will bring his A-game like he always does, but he will actually be able to implement the offensive arsenal that he hasn't shown since the Judah fight.

Taeth, you make great points. People refuse to see that PBF is no welterweight. He just fought at that weight class. He'll never get the credit for being the smaller fighter. PBF is really a 140 pound fighter. But when money calls he'll go to even 154. And good way to point out the size difference between Mosley and Mayweather that no ones sees. It is about the same difference as PBF and JMM but PBF is getting ridiculed for finally being the bigger fighter. I do think JMM will make the fight interesting for 5 or 6 rounds but I also do remember when PBF was the bigger man he would be much more offensive. I'd like to see that again.

[Andre]

I see Mayweather a big favourite in this fight, for the same simple reason sweetpea gave that he's struggled with lesser boxers that were considerably smaller. Just cos Pac carried his speed and power up the divisions doesn't mean everyone can.

IMO it's also cynical matchmaking. People were screaming blue murder when Oscar signed to fight a feather who recently moved to light at Welter, yet Floyd does exactly the same thing. Yes Pac dealt with him, but it's been pretty much universally accepted that the no.1 reason for the victory was due to him being totally washed up at 147. He also said in the interview that his targets after JMM were again the smaller Pac (of course prior to his devastating win on Sat night) and even Oscar cos they make money together (I'll admit that may have been tongue in cheek as he's playing the bad guy again.).

Most of that stuff he said was tongue in cheek, when asked seriously afterwards, he said the only fighter he was focused on was JMM because he thinks that bar himself he is the best fighter in the world. The fact is it was Marquez who called for the fight & he got it. The Mosley fight is not actually out of the question, but both are probably waiting on Pacquiao first

Skill wise he maybe right about the next best fighter being Jmm.
We all know a great 'big fighter' will 95% of the time beat a great little fighter though. Its a real tough job ahead of Juan and his team, the preparation to get everything as close as they can without losing an edge will be borderline.Could be a quick fight or even a nasty one for Jmm with that Mexican heart and chin.

[SweetPea]

It just makes me mad that right now the size difference between Mosley and Mayweather is probably greater or at least the same as Mayweather against Marquez, and Mosley would definitely use his size against Mayweather, yet nobody would talk about Mayweather being at a huge disadvantage, nor would that be considered a elligible excuse if Floyd were to lose to Mosley.

This is a good point.

For his fights at welter, Floyd usually walks to the ring at the exact same weight that he weighs in at. He doesn't rehydrate at all. Whereas when Mosley fought Maragrito, they weighed-in at 147, but they both walked to the ring at 160. So in other words, they were a full 2 weight classes bigger than Floyd.

[RozzySean]

I agree that Mayweather will win a easy snooze fest against Marquez. Assuming it's on PPV, I won't buy the fight.

As for Mayweather/Pac, I think that at this point, there isn't much of a size difference between Mayweather and Pac. We've discussed this before, and I know you know the importance of matchups and what we learned from the Judah fight.

The matchup is what makes this fight interesting. Yes, Floyd's jab is faster than Pac's straight right, but the right hits harder. Judges prefer Pac's style and I don't think he will fold mentally. I also think that if anybody can come up with a game plan to beat Mayweather, it's Roach.

Sure, I think there is a good chance that Floyd will catch Pac and stop him. I'm not picking Pac. This might be counter intuitive, but I'm not sure I see Mayweather winning a decision. Pac will go out on his shield before he lets Floyd outpoint him. Mayweather by KO or Pac by close decision.

[Rocky Balboa]

Taeth you make some excellent points.