By Mark Vester
The negotiations for Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Marquez are still ongoing, and the issue of weight, not money, continues to be the biggest issue. The date of July 18 is reserved on HBO pay-per-view, and I'm sure a Las Vegas venue is already locked in. Mayweather wants the fight to be closer to 147 and Marquez, who is currently the WBA/WBO champion at 135-pounds, wants the fight closer to 140.
Speaking with BoxingScene.com's Luis Sandoval, Marquez made it clear that he was going for Mayweather because Manny Pacquiao was not interested in a third meeting, at least not at this time.
"Well like always, Pacquiao doesn't want the third fight. I'll say it to him publicly and we'll see if Mayweather can become my next opponent," Marquez said.
Marquez told BoxingScene that he was willing to go up as high as 143/144 to make the fight. His trainer/manager Nacho Beristain has said that 143 is their target catch-weight for Mayweather.
"Well 147 is too much weight for me but we are trying to make the fight. If the fight happens we want to try and make it at a lower weight. He wants to fight, we want to fight, so we'll try to make it happen at 143 or 144 pounds," Marquez said.
There are unconfirmed reports that Mayweather might be willing to give up a few pounds and head down to a catch-weight of 145. If that is the case, it's a bit silly that "two-pounds" are holding up what may be one of more anticipated events of the boxing year. Mayweather has been away from the ring since December 2007, when he knocked out Ricky Hatton. The time away has not made him any less popular.
Sources close to the negotiations appear confident that a deal can get done. Boxing fans hope so, too.
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