Locker room philosopher Charles Barkley once said pressure is for tires. That wise-guy bit of wisdom is worth remembering as anticipation and speculation combine and begin to register a surprising buzz in the build-up for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s comeback on Sept. 19 against Juan Manuel Marquez at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
In a fight predicted to be one-sided, intrigue is there because of what it means to Mayweather, the overwhelming favorite. For him, the stakes are huge, maybe never bigger.
It’s not if Mayweather wins. It’s how he wins.
If he loses, well, his career will be a blowout for everybody who thinks he is just a bunch of hot air anyway.
Within the how, there is the business meter, the pay-per-view numbers that will determine whether Mayweather can stand alone as an attraction with enough leverage to reasonably ask for the lion’s share of the profit margin in a projected moneymaker against Manny Pacquiao.
It all adds up to the kind of pressure that turns a few into legends and most into tires. Mayweather, defensive in the ring and often out of it, has shown an ability to forge it into a legacy, which he often talks about almost as if it is a birthright.
To wit: Against Ricky Hatton, he delivered terrific stoppage that silenced a crowd of rude Brits who had booed the Star-Spangled Banner. It was beautiful. A fighter I had never liked had won me over, at least for the moment. But proof always rests in the next punch and that burden has never been heavier.
A crushing loss to Pacquiao only confirmed suspicions that Hatton, although entertaining, was overrated. Mayweather beat De La Hoya in a narrow decision in 2007, but De La Hoya’s next two fights – a bruising, telling decision over Steve Forbes and eighth-round surrender to Pacquiao in December – and subsequent retirement seemed to say he was finished.
Against Marquez, Mayweather faces a seasoned, full-time fighter, whose two has a draw and loss to Pacquiao in two fights that he could have easily won. Against Mayweather, he is the underdog, a heavy one, mostly because the former featherweight and lightweight champion has never fought as a welter and presumably won’t be one on Sept. 19. The reported catch-weight is 144 pounds. Marquez predicted in a conference call nearly two weeks ago that he will be at 142 pounds. On the same call, however, Mayweather again would not confirm the reported catch weight.
“Not weighting no 143,’’ said Mayweather, who dismissed reports of the catch weight as rumors. “It’s a welterweight fight. I weigh whatever a welterweight weighs.’’
Apparently, that means Mayweather will weigh whatever he wants. Or maybe it means the biggest weigh-in flap since Jose Luis Castillo. Whatever it leads to, it is just another example of Mayweather’s ability to keep opponents and media guessing, which – truth is – part of the intrigue in the countdown to Marquez.
But there is no guess about what the unbeaten Mayweather has to do against Marquez. To back up his boasts and his resurrected claim on the pound-for-pound perch, he has to do what nobody else has in 54 fights: Knock out Marquez.
“He has to keep fighting the best and knock out out some of the best, starting with Juan Manuel Marquez,’’ De La Hoya, Marquez’ promoter, said Thursday in a conference call. “He has to make a statement.’’
It would be a statement without saying anything at all, which for Mayweather would say everything.
NOTES, QUOTES, ODDSERVATIONS
· After watching HBO’s 24/7, I don’t want to know what’s in that Marquez water bottle. Memo to the Nevada State Athletic Commission: If Marquez is asked to take the traditional drug test, make sure the cup gets to the lab before he drinks the contents.
· De La Hoya’s side-show decision over Shaquille O’Neal on fantasy TV was actually entertaining and left me wondering if Pacquiao taught De La Hoya how a little man can beat a bigger one.
· More O’Neal: With the Ali Shuffle, he showed more footwork during a few rounds in the ring than he did throughout last season with the Phoenix Suns. Maybe, the Cleveland Cavaliers should hire Freddie Roach as O’Neal’s personal bench coach. It looks as if only Roach could get O’Neal to move his feet fast enough to defend against the pick-and-roll, which knocked the Suns into mediocrity and could keep LeBron James from claiming his first NBA championship ring.
Source: 15rounds.com
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