Yes, Marquez believes he can beat Mayweather with speed

It's a very interesting strategy considering that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has the fastest hands since Meldrick Taylor. And he's a better fighter than Taylor.

But Juan Manuel Marquez plans on beating Floyd with speed. They said as much on a media conference call and alluded to it on HBO's 24/7. As the lighter fighter, JMM would usually have a handspeed advantage over nearly anyone else he'd face in the higher weights. He won't be faster than Floyd, but he may be faster than anyone else Floyd has faced, so the strategy is worth watching. Remember it was Pacquiao's speed, and not Oscar De La Hoya's size and power that decided their fight.

Here's what Marquez and trainer Nacho Beristain have said on the subject:

"We're not working or training for Mayweather that's been out of the ring or that can be less fast, not as fast or without the distance," said Marquez. "I'm training for the best Mayweather there is. And that's what we're working hard to achieve, working on the speed, working on the strategy inside the ring. We're looking forward to facing the best Mayweather... It's going to be a very difficult fight, I am going to come in with a lot of speed like I have always done and that makes it very difficult."

"There's always concern when you're bulking up in weight and working and training that you're going to lose a little bit of speed," said Beristain. "But no, on the contrary I'm very happy to say that Juan at this point in training has been acquiring much more speed than in fights in the past. Everything's come together. So, we're looking very, very good. I'm very happy to how things are coming along. And we'll see on September 19."

Source: newsday.com