Mayweather Return

[EddieG]

Floyd Mayweather Jr has agreed to step out of retirement and fight lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather has not fought since beating Briton Ricky Hatton in their December 2007 welterweight bout.

But the undefeated five-division champion will return to fight Mexico's three-weight champion Marquez in July.

"I left on top and I'm here to fight and reclaim what is mine," the 32-year-old Mayweather told a news conference at a Las Vegas hotel on Saturday.

"Lately I've been running seven, eight miles a day. I'm in tremendous shape.

"When it comes to fight time, I'll be ready physically and mentally. I just want to be the best that I can be."

News of the contest comes on the day of Hatton's fight with Manny Pacquiao, and Mayweather is already being linked with a match against the winner of the bout.

Hatton takes on Pacquiao - currently regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world - for the light-welterweight championship belt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Should Hatton shrug off his underdog tag and defeat the Filipino boxer, and if Mayweather overcomes the 35-year-old Marquez on 18 July, a rematch of their 2007 fight in Las Vegas is sure to be on the cards.

Mayweather stopped Hatton in the 10th round on that occasion, confirming his tag as the best pound-for-pound boxer at that time.

A rematch could generate even more interest given Mayweather's father, Floyd Mayweather Sr, has pledged to continue to train Hatton against his son.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/8028326.stm

Edited May 2, 2009 by EddieG

[Marcos]

Spoilers for Hitman - Pacman match result:

Spoiler: Click here to view

After watching Pacman just destroy Hatton, I really now want to see him against Mayweather. That would be one of the greatest matches ever I believe. I also can't believe I stayed up till 5AM for that!

[9 to 5]

It was well worth it Marcos. >_>

[naiwf]

Spoiler: Click here to view

lol Hatton. Pacman would beat Mayweather because he's got more power in his punches, and a better jaw. Adding in the ring rust I don't see anyway Mayweather would take that fight unless he was guaranteed $25 million+

[Your Mom]

Boxing is still worth that much? I thought it was pretty much done

[naiwf]

Between live gates, guaranteed money and a cut in PPV revenue a fight like Mayweather/Pacquiao could easily bring in $10-15 million for the guy with the lower portion of the purse. From wikipedia,

Despite De La Hoya's insistence that money was not a factor, the Mayweather-De La Hoya bout set the record for most PPV buys for a boxing match with 2.4 million households, shattering the record of 1.95 million for Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II. Around $120 million in revenue was generated by the PPV, which set another record. With the percentages factored in, Oscar De La Hoya ended up earning $58 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter. The previous record was $35 million, held by Tyson and Holyfield. Floyd Mayweather earned about $25 million for the fight.

I don't think they would do better with this fight, but it would come pretty close since Mayweather's unbeaten and Pacquiao is the undisputed PFP # 1 right now based on his last two fights and his body of work before that. 1-1.2 million buys is pretty much a given which means they could easily generate at least $60 million in revenue. Mayweather would take that fight if he gets a huge guarantee. Otherwise he won't.

Edited May 3, 2009 by naiwf

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

At first I hated Mayweather, now after last nights result I'm really hoping he faces Pacman and destroys him (Y)

[Fitzy]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Pacquiao is wonderful. Hatton got destroyed and I loved it.

[Thrilla]

I hate people that call Pacquiao, Pacman. Its a shit nickname. Also, the fight finished pretty much how I expected, except being six rounds earlier than I predicted.

[Dynamite]

I didn't watch the fight last night but I fully expected Pacman to destroy Hatton. I would love to see a Mayweather-Pacman fight. I don't know who I'd root for though because Pacquiao has been a big favourite of mine for a while but I'd hate for Floyd to lose his unbeaten record now.

[caucasianheat]

Yikes. Ugly fight, glad I didn't go out for it. The 24/7 hype must have just been talk on Hatton's side, because Ricky looked no different than he has in any of his other fights - reckless, no head movement, hands too low, and taking damage on every approach. I wonder what Floyd Sr.'s game plan actually was, because that couldn't have been it.

Hatton is out of the upper echelon for good, I would think. He can still produce exciting fights with a lower calibre of fighter, but he doesn't belong at the top of the game or in the discussion of best P4P and this fight certainly proved it. No clue what comes next for Pacquiao or where he wants to fight. At light welterweight he's got Nate Campbell and there's Juan Diaz at lightweight, both of which could produce good fights. I would hope there's a third match with Marquez coming at some point in the future as well, I think JMM deserves it.

On that note, Mayweather taking a return fight with Marquez is interesting. If Mayweather is in old form, I think he can pull a decision. But Marquez presents problems - he hits hard and he's resilient and able to take momentum in late rounds. I would say it's not smart to try and take him into late rounds because he does well in them and Floyd can't knock him out. There are some interesting possibilities.

[ACCBiggz]

Spoiler: Click here to view

lol Hatton. Pacman would beat Mayweather because he's got more power in his punches, and a better jaw. Adding in the ring rust I don't see anyway Mayweather would take that fight unless he was guaranteed $25 million+

He's coming out of retirement because he owed 6+ million in taxes and with this superfight out there he will be able to pay the cash after his fight with Maruqez (sp) and then bank his 15-30 million this winter with Manny.