MAYWEATHER DOMINATES MARQUEZ IN COMEBACK FIGHT

If there was any ring rust on Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he returned to action after a 21 month layoff it sure wasn’t evident.  Mayweather floored a game Juan Manuel Marquez in the second round and dominated his opponent wire to wire to earn a unanimous decision victory at the MGM Grand Gardens Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.  There was some controversy in the victory, as Mayweather had come in two pounds overweight and was forced to pay a $600,000 penalty to Marquez as a result.  Still, the story of the bout was Mayweather’s once-in-a-lifetime combination of physical gifts and technical mastery of ‘the sweet science’.

Mayweather entered the fight as a lopsided -420 favorite over Marquez, though in retrospect the premium price on the undefeated ‘pound for pound’ claimant seems more than justified.  The ‘Mayweather by decision’ prop bet was a more reasonable +105, though there was a good amount of action on the ‘Mayweather by KO’ prop at +170.  The over/under round total was set at 11’, with the OV 11’ rounds priced at -130 with the takeback on the UNDER at +115.

Mayweather’s dominance was evident in the scorecards—120-107, 119-108, 118-109.  The judges who gave a round or two to Marquez were being charitable, as a number of respected ‘unofficial’ scorecards concurred with the 120-107 whitewash.  Mayweather improved his record to 40-0 (25 KO) while Marquez dropped to 50-5-1.  After the bout, Mayweather praised the tenacity of his opponent:

"Marquez is tough as nails. He's a great little man. He was really hard to fight, and he kept taking some unbelievable shots."

"He's a great small man. Don't forget, I came from a small weight class too, so I know when you're in front of a great fighter. I think he brought his best tonight."

Mayweather was a little more critical of his own performance despite the one sided domination of a solid pro in Marquez:

"I've been off for two years, so I felt like it took me a couple of rounds to really know I was back in the ring again. I know I'll get better."

Since he made a compelling case that he’s still the ‘pound for pound’ best fighter in the sport, the notion that he’ll get better is a frightening thought.  Despite his own critical assessment, Mayweather looked as if he’d never been away as he displayed his laser accurate punches—primarily working his jab the entire fight—and his defensive skills that have to rank among the best in boxing history.  It was vintage Mayweather at his unhittable best.

The Compubox numbers for the fight paint a staggering picture of Mayweather’s greatness—Mayweather landed 59% of his punches (290 of 493) while just 12% of Marquez’s total shots landed.  Mayweather landed more jabs in each round than Marquez did total punches, and Marquez connected on just 16% of his power shots.  Marquez was gracious in defeat, though blamed the weight differential when it was apparent that the real difference was speed and skill:

"He surprised me with the first knockdown. He hurt me in that round, but not any other time. I don't want to make any excuses, but the weight was the problem. He's too fast."

While a potential mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao still looms on the horizon (assuming ‘Pac Man’ can get past Miguel Cotto), Mayweather already has another potential opponent.  ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley challenged Mayweather in the ring after the bout, with Golden Boy Promotion officials forced to separate the two men.