Floyd Mayweather: 'Marquez ain't nothing but a tune-up'

Floyd Mayweather: 'Marquez ain't nothing but a tune-up' May 12, 4:56 PM PBF and JMM (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)Just barely a week removed from training Ricky Hatton on a losing effort against Manny Pacquiao -- and virtually losing to Freddie Roach as well in the battle of the trainers -- Floyd Mayweather Sr. is back doing what he does best, and that is laying down smack. With Floyd Mayweather Jr. announcing his return to the boxing ring against WBA & WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, Floyd Sr. has once again candidly voiced out his opinions regarding the outcome of the fight. The response might not be news to most, however. In a recent interview with Percy Crawford at FightHype.com, Floyd Sr. was quoted describing Juan Manuel Marquez as, “nothing but a tune-up; somebody to pick apart like target practice,” and added, “he’s going to toy with Marquez.” Floyd Jr. was also quoted in the background saying, “They are both too small for me. I will beat both of them.” I’m sure nobody will argue that Floyd Jr. is indeed the bigger man coming in to his fight against Marquez. But what I’m questioning is the fact that if Floyd Jr. truly wants to go down as one of the greatest of the sport, and if he truly believes that Marquez is too small for him, then why would he pick Marquez as his opponent for his comeback fight? That’s why he calls himself "Money." Floyd Mayweather Jr., or Money May as he wants to be called, is coming back because of the itch. Not the itch from fighting and being one of the sport’s greats, but for the itch most people get and the reason why they want to be rich. Money after all makes the world go ‘round. And contrary to what some people may think, the Marquez and Mayweather bout in my opinion will do fairly well at the box office. Marquez may not be anywhere near the draw as Manny Pacquiao, but beside Mayweather Jr. who is one of the most recognizable athletes in the sport, the Mexican market will surely eat this bout up. Marquez is pretty much the last Mexican great standing with the departure of Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales and Israel Vasquez and Antonio Margarito being out of commission for a while now. Never underestimate “Mexican Pride” as they say. With all the rest gone, Marquez is the lone torch bearer of that “Pride” right now, so expect his people to rally behind him. And I say it is not because of his pursuit of greatness, simply because a victory over Marquez does little to further what Floyd Jr. has already accomplished. Let’s face it, he will make almost the same money and even more had he faced bigger competition in the likes of Sugar “Shane” Mosley, Paul “The Punisher” Williams or even a Miguel Cotto. But opting to comeback against a smaller guy who can set him up with a mega-fight against the biggest small guy in the sport in Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Jr. simply just followed through what he has been telling all of us all along. It’s all about Manny. I mean, money. Author: Dennis Anthony Guillermo Dennis Anthony Guillermo is an Examiner from Indianapolis. You can see Dennis Anthony's articles on Dennis Anthony's Home Page.

Comments (20)

He did, His best bet was coming into the ring at 142, Mayweather being rusty and hitting the weigh in at 144. That didn't happen though. You can go look through my post history. Ive barked from the get go Marquez stood 0 chance and wasnt going to be competetive. I rest my case.

16y ago

sandyvahra

Did you think that Shane was gonna KO Margarito? Pac was gonna TKO Oscar? Hopkins was gonna dominate Pavlik? Did any of the above hold every possible advantage tangible or intangible? NO. Did Floyd? YES.

16y ago

JBell11

Floyd was always going to beat Marquez. So I understand your point. I truly do. But I can't blame someone for (legally) exploiting the system and stacking the deck in his favor. When Oscar fought FMJ, Oscar stacked everything in his favor. Floyd beating Marquez was irrelovant to the debate. Integrity was my point. But ok. I'll let it slide. I understand your point...the mayweather camp can definitely exploit the system.......(legally).

16y ago

Doctor_Tenma4618

Difference is Oscar had to stack to have a chance. JMM never stood a chance from the get go. Big difference. He did, His best bet was coming into the ring at 142, Mayweather being rusty and hitting the weigh in at 144. That didn't happen though.

16y ago

sandyvahra

Floyd was always going to beat Marquez. So I understand your point. I truly do. But I can't blame someone for (legally) exploiting the system and stacking the deck in his favor. When Oscar fought FMJ, Oscar stacked everything in his favor. Difference is Oscar had to stack to have a chance. JMM never stood a chance from the get go. Big difference.

16y ago

JBell11

You don't understand how contracts work. Pac/Oscar had the same clause in their contract. And both sides acknowledge that a weight clause was in there. If you come in over XXX lbs, then you pay YYY dollars. Floyd exercised that clause in the contract. If you don't want me to exercise a clause, don't put it in the contract. Business Law 101. When I built my house, the builder included XXX square feet of hardwood flooring. I wanted more, so I paid YYY dollars for more. When you go buy a bucket of KFC Grilled chicken, you get four pieces of white meat. If you want more white meat, you have to pay an additional $1.99. Same thing. Keith Kiser said that Floyd didn't violate the contract. He would be in trouble with the NSAC if he did. No sympathy for the boo-hoo'ing. Hi Al, I do understand how contracts work, I also understand that the clause was in the contract and that he excerised it. In your "Pac/Oscar" example, Oscar had the "balls" if you will, to challenge himself and his opponent to make weight. I'm sure Oscar could've excersise the clause (he can afford it). But, he chose not to...there is an amount of integrity that Oscar developed by doing that. We all know he paid the price, but noone can tell Oscar that he didn't honor the contractual obligation set forth. He did his part. I did not mention anything about being in trouble with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. I was merely discussing the integrity of an athlete. That is, giving another athlete a legitamate chance. Now to your other example, you may want to buy XXX additional square feet of hardwood flooring...and so you paid YYY dollars more are you going to reach over and take more wood than you actually need? I'll dumb it down. Are you going to come in overweight on a naturally smaller dude??? Again Al, and friends I'm just talking about integrity...the contract may have a clause to let you slip. But in all fairness of the sport, and in any competition the person will always lack credibility. Ok...not always lack credibility. But it still sucks.

16y ago

sandyvahra

I have gone on tne record previously and said that Floyd "gamed the system". Was it ethical? Maybe, maybe not. Was it illegal? Absolutely not. So, what i took umbrage to was the assertion by that earlier poster who said that Floyd violated his contract. No, Floyd did not violate the contract. What Floyd did was IN NO WAY comparable to the cheating that Margarito and Mosley have done. And it isn't like Floyd showed up to the weigh-in overweight and sueprised everyone and put the fight in jeopardy (like Corrales, Guzman, Castillo, Campbell, etc). Floyd told the Marquez team on Wednesday. Wednesday. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4485941 He never intended to make the weight. He waited until the 11th hour to make the change. He went & restructured the penalty with the marquez camp. For a guy who was already getting flack for fighting an older slower lightweight, he chose to come in even bigger than originally agreed to or that the public was made aware of. It was a stupid move either way you slice it. It wasn't neccessary & opened him up for more criticism.

16y ago

JakeNDaBox

An amended contract is a contract. Contracts are amended ALL THE TIME. Marquez and mayweather both signed, so it was a fully executed, valid contract. Once Marquez approved the amendment, the 'original contract" became moot. Boxing contracts are usually amended for bullshit like, what color gloves they get to wear (though no longer an issue in Vegas since they let fighters wear whatever they want)... or Fighter A is granted an extra hotel room... Fighter B gets extra ringside tickets, etc. The weight at which they fight is rarely amended, so please don't act like it's commonplace. The only time it's amended is in fact when one fighter struggles to make weight. I agree, the original contract became moot once the amended version was filed. Nor do I pity Marquez for what went down - in fact, I've publicly chastisted Marquez and Golden Boy for selling out the way they did. But the fact is that up until the 11th hour, Keith Kizer and the NSAC were led to believe that the fight was going to take place at 144 lb and he was quite vocal in his displeasure over the lack of professionalism exuded by Mayweather. Again, though, it's Kizer's own fault for not stepping in sooner, instead putting the money they stood to gain before the very rules he's supposed to enforce. That's all I was trying to clear up, since your posts paint a different picture.

16y ago

MindBat

An amended contract is a contract. Contracts are amended ALL THE TIME. Marquez and mayweather both signed, so it was a fully executed, valid contract. Once Marquez approved the amendment, the 'original contract" became moot. EXACTLY. Plus, all Team Marquez had to do was not sign the amended contract and call the fight off until Floyd complied, or simply refuse to fight. But of course, who's Marquez to decline the biggest paycheck of his career?

16y ago

jungie

so pbf makes his fight a business type boxing.......?

16y ago

JakeNDaBox

You don't understand how contracts work. Pac/Oscar had the same clause in their contract. And both sides acknowledge that a weight clause was in there. If you come in over XXX lbs, then you pay YYY dollars. Floyd exercised that clause in the contract. If you don't want me to exercise a clause, don't put it in the contract. Business Law 101. When I built my house, the builder included XXX square feet of hardwood flooring. I wanted more, so I paid YYY dollars for more. When you go buy a bucket of KFC Grilled chicken, you get four pieces of white meat. If you want more white meat, you have to pay an additional $1.99. Same thing. Keith Kiser said that Floyd didn't violate the contract. He would be in trouble with the NSAC if he did. No sympathy for the boo-hoo'ing. The other dude to whom you responded is wrong in believing that Floyd broke the terms ofthe contract, but your post isnt exactly the truth. Floyd didn't adhere to the terms of the original contract - he had it reworked to avoid paying a fine to the NSAC. Kiser stated that Floyd didn't violate the contract that he was given - but that was the amended version, which he received at the very last minute (and past deadline, though that's Kiser's fault for not doing his job). The amended version called for a welterweight fight. Had the original version with the 144 lb. weight limit been the only contract on file, Floyd would've been obligated to pay the agreed upon amount for being 2 lb. over, and also a mandatory fine to the NSAC.

16y ago

daggum

At what weight did Marquez ask for the fight? At what weight did Marquez weigh in? only insecure people answer questions with more questions. i asked you how many fights do you think marquez will win in his career at welterweight? you see the answer is zero which proves this fight was a total farce. fighting a small guy way above his best weight cause he asked for it? what kind of reasoning is that. lets hope juanma lopez doesn't ask for the fight at 143...........fingers crossed people!

16y ago

RL_GMA

In post #24, you asked me what money has to do with it. I then responded that the arena was full of Mexicans. Let me be more clear, if possible: Marquez brought the Latino fanbase to the gate, and to the promotion. That is what Marquez brought to the table that Shane does not. I now ask YOU: if I am mistaken or wrong about this, please point me to the fight that Shane participated in where he was able to bring a large fanbase to the arena (or cable box). Thanks again v3.0. LOL I truly don't think you're a Floyd Mayweather fan, honestly.

16y ago

JBell11

Yep. It says that Golden Boy doesn't know how to negotiate on behalf of their fighter. Contracts....there for a reason. What to be broken??? Is that really an excuse? The contract stipulated a certain weight limit, and if it was such an issue; Floyd's team should have contested that particular clause. Why wait until fight week to "do something about it." Is anyone in Floyd's staff capable of reading his contracts??? I think so. I guess contracts don't really matter. He was even quoted saying he had no intention, nor the ability to make weight. Marquez asked for the fight, and got the fight almost exactly how he asked for it. I have a TV set. True Story. The fight would have been a "fair" fight on paper. My entire point being; Floyd would have had some integrity if JMM got exactly what was stipulated in the contract. Floyd could have legitimately, contractually walk the walk. Please this is only an opinion.

16y ago

MANGLER

This shit is old. Just hope he fights SSM and Pac-Cotto winner next yr.

16y ago

Ravishing

You asked me a question, and I just explained it. I now ask you a question: Would you please tell me which fight in my archives where I can find an arena full of Mosley fans. Thanks again. You didn't answer anything lol, you're dodging the question. Does Mayweather vs Mosley make more than Mayweather vs Marquez? Yes or No?

16y ago

daggum

Excuses for Marquez? He trained extremely hard from what we all saw. He could have come in at whatever weight he wanted. Marquez came in at the best weight for him. Marquez came in at EXACTLY the weight he asked for the fight. how many fights at welterweight will marquez win in his career?

16y ago

Ravishing

The arena was full of Mexicans. Right? Please point me to an arena full of Mosley fans. Thanks in advance. So you're telling me Mosley vs Mayweather does less than Mayweather vs Marquez?

16y ago

Ravishing

Excuses for Marquez? He trained extremely hard from what we all saw. He could have come in at whatever weight he wanted. Marquez came in at the best weight for him. Marquez came in at EXACTLY the weight he asked for the fight. Which obviously didnt work in his favor lol. Dude looked so bloated, but wait...he wanted the fight though so it's his fault.

16y ago

Ravishing

If Shane gets his money up, it could happen. How does Mosley having to get his money up have to do with anything? As if Marquez was bringing big money to the table?

16y ago