Mayweather vs. Marquez Prediction

By Bong Paredes: In less than 24 hours we will finally get to see if Marquez has what it takes to compete and perhaps beat the best boxer for the last 10 years in Floyd Mayweather Jr. As a guy that never met a fight he didn’t like, Marquez is going to in the ring for the first time where he isn’t pegged as the better and faster counterpuncher, and seeing that those are the main attributes that allowed him to give Manny Pacquiao fits the outlook is not so bright for the Mexican great. A lot of fans believe he has a good chance of beating Floyd and I am not in a position to say he doesn’t because he is an excellent fighter, I just don’t see it happening..

These same people will allude to Mayweather’s inactivity as the possible reason for his “0” to go. They also said that even if he is consistently working out while he was retired, being in gym shape and in boxing shape are two totally different things and I agree. Because even the great Michael Jordan was not able to instantly reclaim his throne after and 1 month layoff. All of those things are true but there’s a big difference in that analogy that they failed to take into consideration. Basketball is a team sport while boxing is not. There are a lot of match-ups aside from Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway that made the difference, that’s something Floyd will never need to worry about.

Some fans also said that Marquez’ uncanny ability to make unbelievable mid fight adjustments will make a lot of difference; his fights with Pacquiao and recently with Juan Diaz are living proof. That is true, but he’s fighting Floyd Mayweather here, Floyd is the master of that. Chopchop Corley cracked him really bad early in their fight but that was as close as he got. He may be a braggart and we might not like it but most of what he’s saying is true. There is no blueprint on how to beat him. Many boxers and trainers look at first fight with Jose Luis Castillo because that was the only fight Floyd had a hard time from start to finish but he proved to everyone that it was a one time thing. He beat Castillo in a rematch and everyone that fought him after that tried the very same approach to no avail. If you have any doubts, ask Baldomir, Hatton and Dela Hoya how it worked for them.

Marquez’ ability to recuperate after getting hurt is great but there will be a distinct difference this time. Marquez is not a fast starter and if you look at his fights against Pacquiao and Juan Diaz, he made the necessary adjustments after he was dropped and/or hurt. The difference with Mayweather is he is always a step ahead of anyone. If Marquez gets hurt early and he will get hurt, Mayweather will pick him apart just like anyone else. He’ll make adjustments based on Marquez’ adjustments and it will be a vicious albeit potentially boring cycle. Marquez will have his moments but he doesn’t have enough power to really hurt Mayweather in my view. Both fighters said they will try to knock each other out and I hope for all our sakes they stay true to their word. Either way, I see Mayweather winning this one easy. I think it will be a unanimous decision win but if Marquez’ machismo and stubbornness comes into play, he’ll get knocked out in by the 9th or 10th round.

Source: eastsideboxing.com