By Lyle Fitzsimmons

Floyd Mayweather Jr. fights again this weekend.

Finally.

It’s a welcome return – at least in this space – to the fighter who, as they used to say about Reggie Jackson in New York, is truly “the straw that stirs the drink.”

Love him or hate him, and it seems clear in these parts there’s a lot more of the latter, it is by Mayweather, in Mayweather and through Mayweather that the best fights at 147 pounds and its surroundings will be made until he decides to hang up the gloves permanently.

Assuming he defeats Juan Manuel Marquez – which I see him doing in 10 rounds – the “Pretty Boy” now known as “Money” takes a giant leap toward putting his name on a marquee against either Miguel Cotto or Manny Pacquiao in SuperFight 2010.

And don’t think for a second that Bob Arum doesn’t believe it, too.

In spite of the old promoter’s blathering these days about his guys holding purse strings for future welterweight mega events, it’s Mayweather who provides the element that’ll draw fans out in the fervent hope that he gets his head knocked off.

Cotto and Pacquiao are quality boxers and decent guys who’ll put on a good fight in November, but without Floyd, that’s all it is… a fight.

With him and his family and his antics and his persona… it’s an event.

A must-see event that lovers, haters and those undecided will scrape together $55 to watch on PPV.

Because the guy works a crowd better than Hulk Hogan.

When he fought Diego Corrales, he was the white-hatted champion of battered women. When he fought Arturo Gatti, he was the black-hatted prince on the shoulders of regal henchmen. When he fought Carlos Baldomir, he was the sombrero-wearing irritant against a sentimental underdog.

And against Oscar De La Hoya, in a show that drew bigger on pay-per-view than any in history, he was the scene-stealing gotta-hate-me punk teasing 24/7 viewers by “making it rain” while flitting with thug cohorts around a palatial estate.

It’s the stuff that blockbusters are made of.

Oh, and let’s not forget he can fight, too.

The aforementioned four matches resulted in two brutal KOs, one wide decision and one split verdict that – sorry Oscar – was far closer on paper than in the ring. As for his other 35, not only has he won them all, but he’s done so while barely dropping a round… let alone a scorecard.

And though some may argue that Cotto or Pacquiao – or even Mosley and Margarito – are better fighters, it’s impossible to contend they or any others promote a more visceral sensory reaction than the man last seen knocking an unbeaten Ricky Hatton into oblivion two years ago.

The New York Yankees of professional prize-fighting, if you will.

Welcome back, Floyd.

* * * * * * * * * *

Speaking of New York, quick...somebody call Joe Namath!

More than 40 years after he officially passed the word "guarantee" into the sports lexicon, yet another athlete is taking it and running on the eve of a big event.

But unlike "Broadway Joe" and his New York Jets teammates in 1969, I'm not so sure the latest purveyor of lead-pipe cinch victory is going to have quite as much to savor.

Brash contender Chris Arreola, the rotund slugger from Riverside, Calif. upon whom many have hung the term "best American heavyweight," gets his crack at world supremacy later this month when WBC champion Vitali Klitschko risks his title at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

And, in keeping with the Namath road map, Arreola - a prohibitive underdog in most betting circles - not only predicted he'll show up and compete with the 38-year-old Ukrainian export, he promised a fool-the-experts win.

Namath, for those somehow unaware, quarterbacked a double-digit underdog Jets team past the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, just days after guaranteeing a win at a pre-game media event.

As of Monday morning on betus.com, a $600 wager on a Klitschko triumph would be required to win $100, while a $100 bet on Arreola would net $450 if an upset occurs.

"I guarantee that it's going to be an exciting fight and I guarantee that I'm going to come out with the world title and I'll work my ass off," he said last week at a media workout, while laughingly sidestepping claims that his oft-cited weight is again hovering somewhere north of viable.

"I'm gonna win this fight. I'm gonna do it. The only thing I can do is go in there and put on a great fight for the fans in Los Angeles."

Arreola, the WBC's No. 1 challenger to Klitschko even with zero career wins against anyone now ranked in its Top 20, was last active in April when he stopped three-time world title challenger Jameel McCline in four rounds on the Paul Williams-Winky Wright undercard in Las Vegas.

He tipped the scales at 255 pounds that night, marking the third straight fight in which he'd exceeded 250 after melting down to 239 for a breakthrough three-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Chazz Witherspoon 15 months ago in Memphis.

Arreola said conditioning won't be an issue against Klitschko.

Problem is, he sounded as if he were trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.

"Am I in the best shape of my life? Come Sept. 26, I will be," he said. "We still have two-and-a-half more weeks left of training and I'll be there. There's still a little bit more work to do. Come fight time, I'll be ready to go 12 rounds.

"According to all the Internet Web sites, I'm weighing upwards of 280 or something like that. You know what? Right now I weigh in the low 260s. Come fight time, I'm probably going to be 200. Everything is going really good.

"I'm just adapting to working out twice a day. It's a hard thing and my body is still getting used to it."

Getting used to it?!?

You think that’s tough, just wait 'til you see this Klitschko guy.

Suddenly rejuvenated after a four-year ring exodus, the older brother of the IBO/IBF/WBO champion has reeled off two straight impressive wins, pummeling Samuel Peter and Juan Carlos Gomez into submission over 17 rounds in October 2008 and March 2009.

His two previous trips to L.A. have yielded mixed success - most recently an eighth-round TKO of Corrie Sanders in 2004, and, 10 months earlier, a six-round pitched battle with Lennox Lewis that ended with Klitschko's face a bloody mess from a gruesome left-eye cut.

The Lewis fight, regardless of result, prompted as much respect for the 6-foot-7 right-hander - menacingly nicknamed "Dr. Ironfist" – as he'd garnered over 33 previous outings in what was then a seven-year pro career.

His only other loss was a ninth-round TKO to Chris Byrd in 2000.

"This is heavyweight boxing. It's two punchers. No one knows what will happen, that's why I prepare to finish the fight inside 12 rounds," Klitschko said. "But I am ready to fight all 12 rounds. I am ready for anything that can happen. I'm an old man. I have pain. But don't worry. I'm feeling much better.

"I had a good performance against Peter. I stopped Gomez. I will do the same against Arreola."

I'm no Angelo Dundee, but I've got one piece of advice, Chris.

Be afraid, man. Be very afraid.

* * * * * * * * * *

This week’s title-fight schedule:

TUESDAY

Vacant IBF junior bantamweight title - Cancun, Mexico

Simphiwe Nongqayi (No. 1 contender) vs. Jorge Arce (No. 3 contender)

Nongqayi (15-0, 6 KO): First title fight; Beat Arce’s brother in last fight

Arce (52-5-1, 40 KO): Former WBC/WBO champ at 108 pounds; Ten title-fight wins (10-3, 8 KO)

FitzHitz says: Arce in 10

WBC super featherweight title - Cancun, Mexico

Humberto Soto (champion) vs. Aristides Perez (unranked)

Soto (48-7-2, 31 KO): Third title defense; Unbeaten in Mexico since 2000 (21-0, 18 KO)

Perez (15-0-1, 8 KO): First title fight; First fight outside Colombia

FitzHitz says: Soto in 4

WBC light flyweight title - Puebla, Mexico

Edgar Sosa (champion) vs. Omar Soto (unranked)

Sosa (36-5, 20 KO): Tenth title defense; Unbeaten since 2003 (24-0, 16 KO)

Soto (14-3-1, 6 KO): First title fight; Three wins in last six fights (3-3, 1 KO)

FitzHitz says: Sosa in 6

FRIDAY

Vacant IBO flyweight title – Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico

Cesar Seda Jr. (No. 30 contender) vs. Omar Soto (No. 37 contender)

Seda Jr. (16-0, 12 KO): First title fight; Seven straight wins by stoppage (6 KO, 1 DQ)

Soto (18-5-1, 12 KO): Lost two title fights by KO; Five wins in last nine fights (5-4, 3 KO) 

FitzHitz says: Seda Jr. in 7

SATURDAY

Vacant IBF middleweight title – Neubrandenburg, Germany

Giovanni Lorenzo (No. 1 contender) vs. Sebastian Sylvester (No. 2 contender)

Lorenzo (27-1, 19 KO): First title fight; First fight outside North America

Sylvester (31-3, 15 KO): Lost one previous title fight; Unbeaten at fight venue (2-0, 2 KO)

FitzHitz says: Sylvester by decision

WBA featherweight title – Las Vegas, Nevada

Chris John (champion) vs. Rocky Juarez (No. 2 contender)

John (42-0-2, 22 KO): Unbeaten in 11 title fights (9-0-2, 3 KO); First fight in Las Vegas

Juarez (28-4-1, 20 KO): Winless in four title fights (0-3-1); Drew with John in February

FitzHitz says: John by decision

Last week’s picks: 4-1

Overall picks record: 37-11 (77.0 percent)

Lyle Fitzsimmons is an award-winning 20-year sports journalist, a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and wondering if a pro-Mayweather piece this week will draw the same hate mail/death threats as last week’s comment on Mosley. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him at twitter.com/fitzbitz.