September
19th marks an important date in boxing, the return of Floyd Mayweather Jr. the
former or current Pound4Pound champion, (depending on who you ask).
Mayweather Jr. will be facing Juan Manuel Marquez, currently the second, or
third man in line for the much coveted Pound 4 Pound crown, (again depending
on who you ask). Many -if not most people- are predicting a Floyd Mayweather
Jr. victory and most say it will come with ease. Hell, some would make you
believe it will take both Marquez brothers in the ring to stop Pretty Boy
Floyd, also known as Money Mayweather. But let's get real folks, Juan
Manuel Marquez is the real deal and has a chance to be the first to knock Floyd
off his throne, (assuming you still believe he sits there).
Marquez has fought Manny Pacquiao twice, who is considered widely to be the
real Pound 4 Pound champion. And in those two fights Marquez fought to a draw
the fist time around, and lost a close split decision victory in their second
meeting. Many believe Marquez won both fights, so in a sense, depending on who
you ask, many see Marquez as the man who beat the man.
If there was ever a time when Floyd Mayweather was vulnerable, the time is
now. He is coming off nearly a two year lay off, so ring rust can play a
huge factor in this fight. To tip the scales back in Mayweather's favor you
can always point out the fact that he is naturally the bigger man, with
quicker feet and hands. As flashy and flamboyant as Mayweather is, whether
he's telling you about what toys he owns or throwing around cash like tootsie
rolls at a parade, he always seems hungry for victory. Fame and money have
stopped many fighters; they grow lazy or start believing the work of their own
public relations machine, but Floyd can't be charged guilty of that. He always
trains to his full potential; his work ethic is second to none.
The same can be said of Juan Manuel Marquez, who hasn't grown lazy; in fact,
he may be the hungriest fighter I've ever seen. As shown in the HBO series
24/7 Marquez eats 25 raw quail eggs in the morning and drinks his own urine.
That's right, his own urine! "Dinamita" Marquez takes the phrase "hunger
for victory" literally. And believe me folks, if Marquez pulls off the upset
you'll see fighters drinking their own urine like it's Gatorade, which brings
me back to my main question... What if Marquez wins? How does that affect
boxing? One of the biggest -if not the biggest fight- in boxing right now is a
possible showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio. But both Floyd
an Manny have to conquer their very respected opponents first. Maybe this
article should be titled, What if Marquez and Cotto win? But for now I'll
leave it at Marquez. If Juan does walk away the winner, does all attention
shift towards him fighting the winner of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto? And
where would a loss put Mayweather? The fight on September 19th, has
many sub-plots that I can't wait to see play out.
