Floyd Mayweather had been on the sidelines for too long. One can imagine him snarling at the thought of his being usurped atop boxing’s pound for pound hierarchy by Manny Pacquiao.
When Mayweather had announced his initial retirement, Pacquiao was fighting at super featherweight. Within two years Pacquiao was the darling of boxing with stunning victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. The sport had moved on and Mayweather’s retirement was no longer so important.
Part 3: Mayweather returns to fight Marquez
Perhaps chastened by his own waning significance, Mayweather announced his return to boxing. He would re-enter the fray by fighting Pacquiao’s Mexican nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez. It was an obvious attempt to get back on top. If he could beat Marquez comfortably he would be doing something Pacquiao couldn’t. This fight would be Mayweather’s statement of intent.
Marquez was the new world lightweight champion and moving up two divisions to welterweight to fight Mayweather was more a monetary opportunity for him than it was a viable entry point into a new weight class. A brilliant counter-puncher, Marquez’s style in many ways mirrored that of his naturally bigger opponent but, as the old saying goes, a good big guy beats a good small guy.
Marquez earned notoriety for his training exploits in the build-up. One day he was throwing rocks off a hillside claiming it would enhance his strength. The next he was drinking his own urine. It may well have been new-age training techniques; it could also have been a ploy to throw Mayweather off. Either way, the fans were at least entertained, if not intrigued, treated to all of it via nonstop 24/7 coverage.
It didn’t take long on fight night to realize that Marquez’s strange methods hadn’t worked. He appeared fleshy and cumbersome at the higher weight. Mayweather, on the other hand, was streamlined and enjoying his spell under the limelight once again. He also did not even bother attempting to make the agreed upon catchweight, further exploiting his size advantage.
In the second round Mayweather copped a right hand from Marquez and smiled. He repaid the punch with interest, leaning forward as if to throw a left uppercut before turning it into a hook at the last instance. It was a beautifully worked shot and it left Marquez on the seat of his pants.
From thereon Mayweather showed he had not lost anything in his time away from boxing. His timing, hand speed and footwork was as good as it had been prior to his ‘retirement’. He out-pointed Marquez easily on all three scorecards. He had done to Marquez something Pacquiao was unable to achieve. Although considering his size advantage and all-around dominance, working harder for a stoppage would have made for an even more impressive performance.
Nevertheless, with this successful comeback the debate began to swell as to who was better – Mayweather or Pacquiao? They had both outdone one another against common opponents. Both were big names and there was growing clamor to see them face off. Mayweather enjoyed being under the spotlight again, even if he had to share it, but soon he would once more be overshadowed.
