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Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37KOs) is confident that he will be able to win against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (39, 25KOs) in their fight at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas on September 19.

Marquez is bigger and stronger as he put on more weight and working on his technique. He definitely hits harder now than he ever did before. Reports suggest that the five-time Mexican World champion is concentrating on body work. It is quite obvious that he intends to target Mayweather’s body, specifically his injured rib.

“I know where he’s been hurt and I’m going for it,” Marquez stated. “He is vulnerable now and I will take advantage of his weakness with a body attack that emphasizes two things-the right and the left.”

Mayweather had problems in facing body punchers. When he had faced Jose Castillo in their first fight out of two, many people felt that Mayweather should have lost. Mayweather won twice against Jose Luis Castillo, but it was obvious that he had a really hard time. Anyone could say that Mayweather has a weakness in taking body shots. And, Mayweather also seem to be less youthful now than two years before, because of this, Mayweather seemed to have also lost a little speed.

Marquez is focusing on strengthening his legs, arms and shoulders, and building up endurance by training in the mountains, 13,500 feet up. He has been running hills and lifting heavy rocks as part of his training.

“The mountain is a magic place and gives me the freedom to visualize the night of the fight and how I am going to beat him,” Marquez said.

Mayweather will probably use his sharp and accurate punches to win points and probably to make Marquez bleed. If Marquez will start to fight wildly, Mayweather will just probably try to avoid the clash by blocking and dodging. But knowing both fighters as incredible counter-punchers, I feel that both fighters will just try to keep their composure and wait for the right timing to throw their power shots.

Whoever wins this fight will have a chance to face Manny Pacquiao. If Mayweather wins, there could be a Pacquiao-Mayweather, otherwise there might be a Pacquiao-Marquez 3. Either of those possibilities will still be considered a mega fight.

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The anticipated showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez has been rescheduled for September 19 at MGM Grand, in Las Vegas. HBO Sports’ revolutionary “24/7″ reality franchise will premiere “Mayweather-Marquez HBO 24/7″ on Saturday, August 29 (10:15 – 10:45 pm ET/PT). This HBO series will let us step into the lives of both fighters before they step into the ring.

“Mayweather-Marquez 24/7″ will provide exclusive behind-the-scenes access, along with in-depth interviews, as both fighters prepare for the fight of their life. Juan Manuel Marquez, unlike Mayweather who is already making his third “24/7″ appearance, is making his HBO reality series debut.

However, from the response that I have read and have been receiving, Mayweather-Marquez probably would not make it big in the box office. There could be many spectators but not enough to call it as such as a “Mega Fight”. People are under the global recession and are wise enough to spend their hard earned cash on something that is more worthy of watching. We all know that Mayweather and Marquez are both good counterpunchers, but to watch two counterpunchers playing safe inside the ring could become very unexciting.

I think that HBO is at it again. They are trying to commercialize and sensationalize the fight so that they could get higher viewer ratings. You can expect them to generate drama for both fighters. But I cannot blame them for that, because it is their job to promote their shows. However, I will no longer let myself be fooled by this kind of marketing strategy. I would rather spend what little amount of money I have on something more stimulating or necessary.

The fact that Mayweather chose to fight a lightweight instead of a welterweight is already a big public turnoff. He could have chosen to fight Mosley, Cotto, Williams or some other welterweight. This just proves how careful Mayweather is in picking his fights.

Nevertheless, I will still be watching the fight. Hopefully, Juan Manuel Marquez beats Floyd Mayweather, Jr., upsetting and humiliating Mayweather. And then I could say that I got my money’s worth. This could probably cause so much hype in the boxing world.

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Floyd Mayweahter, Jr. (39-0, 25KOs) was getting ready to fight Juan Manuel Marquez (50-4-1, 37KOs) on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, when suddenly the supposed fight was reported to have been postponed, due to a damaged cartilage in his ribs. The injury is not much of a surprise, since Mayweather has not seen action for almost two years since he had beaten Ricky Hatton by a 10th round technical knockout, December 2007. He will stop training for his comeback fight until the doctor says he can resume.

Meanwhile, Marquez will be continuing his training for the anticipated bout. He is very focused on his future fights and on his boxing career as well.

The fans have been looking forward to the Mayweather-Marquez fight. The postponement of the said fight, will surely disappoint many boxing fans. They definitely wanted to see, if Mayweather is still who he claims to be, the pound-for-pound king.

However, the said fight is part of Mayweather’s comeback strategy. Considering that Mayweather has the size and speed advantage. And, putting into mind that Pacquiao had fought Marquez twice and had some serious problems against him both times. If Mayweather beats Marquez, it would in a sense be showing that he is superior to Manny, since Pacquiao was dominated by Marquez much of the time in their two fights.

Mayweather didn’t want to go right after Pacquiao for some reason, saying that he decided to fight Marquez because he called him out. It doesn’t sound like a very good reason, though, because pretty much every fighter in boxing would like to get a shot at fighting Mayweather, including Pacquiao, yet Mayweather opted to fight Marquez instead of any of them.

Many critics and boxing writers, are hinting that the postponement may be associated with poor ticket sales rather than Mayweahter’s supposed rib injury. In addition to the alleged rib injury, Mayweather has been experiencing an unusual skin condition that has caused a very prominent yellow streak to form down his spine. Doctors have confirmed that it is in fact this yellowing that has caused his decision to withdraw and not the rib.

Now that Mayweahter has been temporarily cancelled, Pacquiao will probably move on to a fight with Miguel Cotto, who looked worn out after defeating Joshua Clottey on Saturday night.

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s reappearance has initiated a debate regarding the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter. In his absence, the Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao has climbed to the top of the rankings. Following closely behind is the Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez climbing up the pound-for-pound rankings and is widely regarded as the number 2.

You can say that the Mayweather-Marquez fight would make sense, since Mayweather has been out of the ring for about 18 months. He would, rather fight the current number two instead of rushing himself straight into a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao. This will give him the boost in terms of progression. Taking down Marquez out of the list will bring him closer to regaining his most craved status: the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter.

Mayweather obviously has the size advantage over Marquez for being the naturally bigger man. Marquez, on the other hand, has his career based between the 125-lbs and 130-lbs. His last fight at 135-lbs was only the second time that Marquez has fought above his 130-lb weight bound. Marquez has to step up two more weight divisions to meet Mayweather for the fight on July 18, which will take place at the 147-lb welterweight limit. Something that Marquez will be doing for the first time in his career.

Moreover, Mayweather will be having a speed, size and a major reach advantage over Marquez, something that might become a problem for Marquez, because of Mayweather’s defensive style of fighting. You could assume that Mayweather would be faster than his opponent, based on his past performances, not taking into consideration of his absence from the ring.

Marquez is definitely at the disadvantage against Mayweather’s speed, reach and size. However, Marquez is still a talented, brave, skilled and strong fighter, hopefully that will be enough to upset the odds of Mayweather dominating him. The best chance Marquez has is to go after Floyd in the early rounds, and hope that he can tag him while he is still trying to get back the feel of being in the ring. The other option for Marquez is to force Mayweather to make the first move, and try and draw him out of his comfort zone. Marquez hits hard, and is also an excellent counter puncher, so this may be his best outlet for victory.

This may be the last chance for the 36 year old, Juan Manuel Marquez, to cement his legacy, and with a win, he may get what he really deserves. A rematch with the Pac Man, Manny Pacquiao.

For Floyd, this is the perfect opportunity to dive straight back into the big time.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he misses boxing. His 11-month retirement made him realize that he wanted to fight.

Mayweather announced his comeback plans in a theater at the MGM Grand hotel, just hours before Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton were to meet in a 140-pound fight in the hotel’s arena.

The 32 yr. old, former WBC welterweight champion, will return to the ring this July 18 in a fight against lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, who is moving up two weight classes. This fight will bestow Marquez his share of the glory that a Mayweather fight can give.

The summer showdown between Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO’s) and Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KO’s) will be promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with Marquez Promotions. Mayweather and his advisers were coy about the contract weight for the Marquez fight, saying it would be a welterweight bout, but De La Hoya, who will be promoting the fight, said it calls for a 143-pound limit instead of the 147-pound welterweight limit.

Although moving up two weight classes, Marquez still proves to be a dangerous fighter, and many thought he won both his fights against Pacquiao.

For these two future Hall of Famers, all that really matters is what happens when the bell rings on Saturday, July 18 and with Mayweather’s return to the ring in a quest to reclaim his pound-for-pound title by taking on Marquez, a man looking to add once again to his amazing legacy, this is a true mega-fight which will determine who is the premier boxer of this era.

Will Floyd Mayweather Jr. be able to reclaim what was once his?

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