By Jake Donovan

Perhaps they had us fooled all along.

After months of speculating over the exact weight limit for their upcoming super fight, the weigh-in results confirmed one of two things: that it was a welterweight limit all along, or Mayweather will have to sweat off a couple of pounds in the next couple of hours following Friday’s weigh-in.

For the moment, it appears as if all systems are go for Saturday evening’s super fight , which airslive from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada (Saturday, HBO PPV, 9PM ET/6PM PT). 

Mayweather, who has never spent a day in his life in anything other than peak physical condition, weighed in at 146 lb, one pound under the welterweight limit, but two pounds heavier than the speculated 144 lb. catchweight limit.

Marquez came in at a career-high but well proportioned 142 lb, for the moment giving away at least four pounds on the scales in addition to entering uncharted territory.

Mayweather (39-0, 25KO) returns to the ring for the first time since his 10th round knockout of Ricky Hatton in December 2007. The win capped a career year for the former pound-for-pound king, which is saying something considering the Hall of Fame-worthy career he’d already lead prior to that point.

He earned universal recognition as 2007’s Fighter of the Year, on top of having his arm raised in two events that produced a combined total of more than 3 million pay-per-view buys.  The win over Hatton served as Mayweather’s lone defense of the World welterweight crown he snatched with ease from Carlos Baldomir a year prior.

A win over Oscar de la Hoya in May 2007 gave Mayweather alphabet hardware in his fifth weight class, three of which were recognized as the true lineal champion (junior lightweight, lightweight and welterweight).

A win on Saturday night will not add to his trophy case, as there is no title on the line.

Marquez (50-4-1, 37KO) fights above the lightweight limit for the first time in his 16-year career. The Mexican is coming off of a 9th round knockout of Juan Diaz in the leading contender for 2009’s Fight of the Year. The bout marked his first defense of the lineal lightweight championship he won a year ago in his10th round stoppage of Joel Casamyor.

It’s unclear where Marquez goes should he pull off the upset. Every boxing fan’s dream is for the winner of this fight to square off against the Miguel Cotto-Manny Pacquiao victor two months from now, with Pacquiao-Marquez III high on that wish list.

Should a loss on Saturday chase him back down to lightweight, awaiting him there will be the winner of a lightweight eliminator that airs on the preliminary portion of this show, when rising contender Vicente Escobedo faces all-action former title challenger Michael Katsidis.

Both fighters comfortably made the lightweight limit, Katsidis coming in at a ripped and ready 135 lb. while Escobedo weighed a lean 134 lb, one pound under the contracted limit.

Katsidis (25-2, 21KO) faces a must-win scenario entering this crossroads bout. The all-action Aussie has won two straight this year, including an impressive stoppage of former titlist Jesus Chavez after seven rounds this past April.

The win was a much-needed pick-me up for Katsidis, considering the year he experienced in 2008. First came the heartbreaking knockout loss to Joel Casamayor last March, followed by a strangely scored split decision to Juan Diaz a little over a year ago.

Escobedo (21-1, 13KO) rides a 12-fight win streak entering what is easily the biggest bout of his young career. A member of the 2004 US Olympic boxing squad, Escobedo was tabbed as boxing’s next golden boy upon turning pro less than a year later.

Some of the new penny shine was removed in a razor-thin upset less to Daniel Jimenez three years ago, though he’s rebounded well to punch his way into title contention, thanks in part to his joining the stable of famed trainer Nacho Beristain.

Among his biggest wins to date include his thriller with Dominic Salcido a year ago on Telefutura. Escobedo fell behind early but found a way to offset Salcido’s aggression to stop him in six highly entertaining rounds.

Joining Katsidis-Escobedo on the terrific pay-per-view undercard is the co-feature bout, which features a featherweight title fight rematch between long-reigning champ Chris John and career bridesmaid Rocky Juarez.

Both fighters weighed in at the featherweight limit of 126 lb.

The bout is a rematch to an entertaining title fight this past February. The two fought to a disputed draw, with many observers believing John (42-0-2, 22KO) deserved the nod over Juarez (28-4-1, 20KO), who perhaps received the benefit of the doubt from the judges on hand in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

It wasn’t the first time Juarez caught a break in his backyard. Having captured Olympic silver for the US during the 2000 Summer Games, Juarez benefited from shoddy officiating in his 2004 crossroads bout with Zahir Raheem, who was docked three points for holding.

Saturday’s rematch with John marks his sixth crack at an alphabet strap, having fallen short against the likes of Humberto Soto, Marco Antonio Barrera (twice) and Juan Manuel Marquez, in addition to the evenly split-scored bout with John earlier this year.

John is no stranger to home cooking, with the most notable win of his career coming in controversial fashion in taking a tainted split decision over Marquez in March 2006.

The win sealed John’s claim as a featherweight titlist, having served for nearly three years as “regular” champion for the alphabet organization that had tabbed at the time Marquez as their super champion before stripping him of his title.

A thinning of the featherweight herd that once included Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales resulted in John becoming the division’s de facto champion. Still lacking on his resume is a clear-cut win over a top fighter, though he left an impression on the American boxing public with his spirited performance earlier this year against Juarez.

Two more featherweights open the televised portion of the show, as Orlando Cruz and Cornelius Lock collide in a 10-round bout. Cruz (16-0-1, 7KO) checked in at the featherweight limit of 126 lb. while Lock (18-4-1, 11KO) came in a pound under at 125 lb.

IN THE HOUSE

Former undisputed middleweight champion and current Golden Boy Promotions stakeholder Bernard Hopkins was introduced to the crowd on hand, though incorrectly tabbed by Michael Buffer as “the reigning light heavyweight champion.” Hopkins won the Ring magazine version of the belt with his whitewash of Antonio Tarver in June 2006, but lost the belt to Joe Calzaghe in April 2008.

Also presented to the crowd were comedians D.L. Hughley and Eddie “Priolo” Sotelo.

Both entertainers attempted to work the crowd, neither enjoying much success; Sotelo led a chant of “Ole Marquez”, joined by Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer but with only modest enthusiasm from the fans in attendance.

Hughley’s venture into emceeing producing far more disastrous results, first butchering the title of HBO’s award-winning “24/7” series, referring to it as “24 Hours.” His dropping the name of Mayweather elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd.

Notable wrestling personality Triple H was also present, though his monotonous delivery behind the mic initially fell flat. His unwavering support of Mayweather was met unfavorably by the crowd, who like everyone else appeared anxious to for Saturday’s headliners to step on the scale.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.