Marquez will beat Mayweather

by Edmond Navarro

I AM just as excited as most boxing fans are for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez showdown dubbed as “Number One Versus Numero Uno” this Sunday (RP time).

The undefeated Mayweather is coming out of retirement and hopes to use this fight as a ticket towards regaining the recognition as pound-for-pound king. In fact, reports say that if Mayweather beats Marquez, a date with current pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao early next year is inevitable, thus settling the score as to who really is the P4P king.

Marquez, meanwhile, is obviously chasing Pacquiao and that this fight is all about him wanting a third bout with the Pinoy boxing hero. If that is not extra motivation to beat Mayweather, I don’t know what it is.

Different reasons but for the same opponent in the horizon.

Many boxing observers believe that Mayweather has the edge and should win this fight because he is bigger and he’s got the best defense.

But I beg to disagree. Marquez has proven that size (or moving up in weight) does not at all pose any much of a threat as evidenced in his last two fights, wherein he moved up from 130 pounds to 135 pounds with both fights ending in knockout victories.

Marquez scored an 11th round knockout over Joel Casamayor in September 2008 for the Ring Magazine lightweight championship and kayoed the former undisputed lightweight champion Juan Diaz early this year.

Mayweather may be undefeated but he has not faced a fighter of JMM’s caliber . In fact, he has been widely criticized for docking the best fighters in his division like Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, and Shane Mosley.

On the contrary, Marquez has fought the best, including Pacquiao, whom boxing aficionados and even Oscar dela Hoya believe has the fastest hands in boxing.

This will discount what many people believe, that Marquez will have problems against the hand speed of Mayweather, because he is used to it already with those two fights with Pacquiao.

I share the sentiments of dela Hoya that Marquez is not a one-two combination fighter. He throws a lot of punches and his technical skills are incomparable, not to mention the fact he too is a very good counter puncher.

All these plus that extra motivation to fight Pacquiao make me believe that Marquez will give Mayweather, Jr. his first loss.

Marquez by unanimous decision.


Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 17, 2009.