Saturday 19 September 2009

Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez














When the eagerly anticipated fight was first announced in May, it was described as a welterweight bout with a catch weight limit of 144 pounds.

However Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer told reporters on Friday weight penalties had been added to the contract in case either fighter came in too heavy.

With Mayweather exceeding the limit by two pounds, Marquez would benefit financially, Schaefer said.

"All parties signed the agreement and he (Mayweather) will have to come up with a substantial amount of money," he added while refusing to disclose the figure.


Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a five-time world champion and an Olympic Bronze Medalist. Over the last few years of his career, he was widely recognized as the best boxer, pound-for-pound, in the world. Mayweather comes from a prominent boxing family, which includes his father Floyd Sr. and uncles Jeff and Roger, who was a world champion in two weight classes.

Mayweather lost to Augie Sanchez in the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials, but defeated Sanchez twice in the Box-offs to earn a spot on the Olympic Team. He turned pro after the Olympics, achieving much early success. He got a title shot at the age of 21 against WBC Super Featherweight Champion Genaro Hernandez, who had lost only once in 40 fights. Mayweather dominated the fight before Hernandez's corner conceded defeat after six rounds. Mayweather fought Angel Manfredy just two months later in a high-profile bout, which Mayweather won by a second-round TKO. After defending his belt four more times, Mayweather was matched with the undefeated Diego Corrales. Mayweather dominated the entire fight, knocking down Corrales five times before the latter's father stop the contest.

After two more title defenses, Mayweather moved up in weight and fought WBC Lightweight Champion Jose Luis Castillo, a veteran of many battles, including a win and a draw against the crafty Stevie Johnston. Mayweather, fighting with an injured shoulder, won by a controversial unanimous decision. A rematch was immediately scheduled to end the dispute, which Mayweather won by a clear unanimous decision. Wins against Victoriano Sosa, Phillip N'dou, and DeMarcus Corley followed.

Mayweather then had what some termed a "superfight" with the popular but limited WBC Super Light Champion Arturo Gatti. Gatti had beaten a number of high profile opponents, including Leonard Dorin, Micky Ward, and Jesse James Leija, but he had failed to face any of the top fighters in the division. On June 25, 2005, Mayweather beat Gatti to become a three-division champion. However, Mayweather's claim to the world 140-pound championship was tenuous at best, given that he failed to face the universally-recognized legitimate champion, Ricky Hatton.

On April 8, 2006, Mayweather won the IBF Welterweight Championship with a unanimous decision over Zab Judah. The win garnered Mayweather his fourth world championship in four weight classes. However, once again his claim to the title was considered spurious by most, given that the linear title ran through Carlos Manuel Baldomir, who defeated Judah in his previous fight. On November 4, 2006, Mayweather earned an easy decision victory over Baldomir, shutting him out on two of the three scorecards.

On May 5, 2007, Mayweather defeated WBC Super Welterweight Champion Oscar De La Hoya by a split decision to become a world champion in five different weight classes. After the fight, Mayweather announced that he was retiring, but on Dec 8, 2007, he fought Ricky Hatton, retaining his WBC Welterweight Championship by a tenth-round TKO. Mayweather landed a left hook to Hatton's jaw early in the 10th that sent the challenger down. Hatton bravely got up but was quickly knocked back down, and the fight was called off. Mayweather was ahead 88-82, 89-81, and 89-81 at the time of the stoppage.

It appeared that Mayweather was going to have a rematch with De La Hoya on September 20, 2008, but Mayweather announced his retirement on June 6, 2008.

On May 2, 2009, Mayweather announced his intentions to return to the ring and fight Juan Manuel Marquez in July 2009.

Source: boxrec.com

The July 2009 fight was called off due to alleged Floyd's shoulder blade dislocation after a tedious boxing training.