MAYWEATHER never planned to make 144...and GBP knew that.

[Al Haymon]

Yes it is and he probably won't let them weigh him.

It actually would be hilarious to me if Floyd got on the scale tonight and was 146-148. That would demonstrate that he put zero effort into making weight.

The guy was obviously completely unconcerned about weight. He was drinking water at the Thursday presser. He was out on the food distribution van this week.

[wXh]

In your face Floyd haters !!

[Al Haymon]

In your face Floyd haters !!

I'm not taking one position...or the other. Just presenting evidence of the truth.

I notice many posters would rather make untrue statements, and then get emotional behind that lie. I'm not sure what their agenda is....but i have an idea.

[Spacey1991]

Mayweather, Marquez keeping mum on megafight details
By Dan Rafael


ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: July 17, 2009, 4:13 PM ET




The promoters of the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez fight have dubbed it "Number One/Numero Uno," their selling point being that it pits America's No. 1 fighter, Mayweather, against Mexico's top boxer, Marquez.

They're also hyping it as the battle for the No. 1 spot on the mythical pound-for-pound list, even though Manny Pacquiao and his supporters certainly would disagree.

Mayweather-Marquez, however, might as well be called the "Mayweather Mystery Tour."

There are two mysteries surrounding the fight, which was supposed to take place Saturday but was postponed until Sept. 19 (HBO PPV) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas because Mayweather said he suffered a rib injury.

Re-starting the promotion this week, Mayweather and Marquez, the lightweight champion who is moving up in weight, spoke to reporters on a teleconference. But rather than provide straight answers to the burning questions of the day, they were evasive, especially Mayweather, who ducked questions like he's ducked elite welterweights.

Asked repeatedly to detail his injury, Mayweather refused.



Floyd Mayweather has refused to go into details on how he suffered a rib injury during training.
Asked yet again for a clarification on the contract weight, both fighters refused to answer, as did promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions. All they would say is that it's a welterweight fight -- even though multiple sources with knowledge of the contract have told ESPN.com that the maximum weight is 144 pounds.

That makes it a welterweight fight -- anything above 140 pounds to 147 is technically a welterweight match -- but you have to wonder, why all the secrecy? They were more guarded with information than the Bush administration.

Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs), who is coming out of retirement and hasn't fought since knocking out Ricky Hatton in a welterweight title defense in December 2007, was cryptic with the discussion of his injury.

"The rib injury, you know, it happened in training," he said. "I don't have to say much, but believe me it wasn't a small guy that did it. It didn't even come from sparring. So nobody really knows what it came from. That's it right there, I know what it came from exactly. Freak accidents happen in training. We do a lot of different workouts in training and freak accidents happen. So it was just a freak accident."

Care to elaborate?

"Well, when it happened I tried to work through it," he said. "I was fine for a while. But then it happened again. And I was like, well, you know what? I can't try to be a superhero or be Superman. It's best to take your time, take a little time off, let it heal and come back, so when I do go out and perform I'll be able to perform to the best of my ability for my fans."

Asked again if it happened while sparring or running or some other exercise, Mayweather offered only, "I would never tell exactly what happened. I just had a rib injury. But by Sept. 19 you won't be able to tell because I'm going to perform. I'm going to be at my best."

Pressed again during the call, Mayweather sounded like he was getting annoyed.

Reporter: "Why is it a secret about your rib injury? Can't you just say, 'Hey, I took a shot [in the ribs]'?"

Mayweather: "Wait, slow down. Slow down. Who said it was a secret? I got hurt in training and I'll leave it at that."

Reporter: "And how is your injury?"

Mayweather: "I don't have to go in depth about what happened to me. I got a rib injury in training and I'm healed, and now I'm ready to rock and roll."

Reporter: "You can't say whether it's from a punch or just hitting the bag, or what?"

Mayweather: "What did I just tell you?"

Although there has been healthy skepticism about the veracity of the injury, Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs), at least publicly, said he believed Mayweather.

"I'm sure that there's solid evidence," Marquez said through a translator. "There should be some paperwork from the doctors. And I'm sure that he presented the paperwork that was needed in order to prove that it was a legitimate injury. I was calm. I'm fine. I mean, things happen for a reason. This happened and I'm OK. I'm ready to go."

Then there is the debate about the weight. Even though some outlets reported it as a 143-pound fight and sources directly involved in the fight told ESPN.com it was 144, Mayweather isn't saying.

When asked if he would have a problem making 143 pounds, Mayweather, who estimated his weight at 149 or 150 during the call, said, "I'm not weighing 143. This is a welterweight fight. Whatever I come in weighing, that's what I come in weighing, but I don't have to weigh 143. I don't know where you heard those rumors from."

Schaefer, who won't publicly discuss the weight so as not to damage the fragile business relationship he has forged with Mayweather, added, "It will be the most covered weigh-in ever because everybody wants to know what the weight is. So make sure you don't miss it!"

Marquez, who has never been heavier than 135 pounds for a fight, toed the party line when asked about the weight.

"There is an agreement between us, and the fight's a welterweight fight," he said. "Anything over 140 pounds is considered welterweight. This is a welterweight fight and we'll see come weigh-in day."

Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya followed Schaefer's lead, using the weight question as a way to hype a fight many view as a Mayweather rout.

"Everybody wants to know what the weight is," he said. "Well, I think the whole world is going to be tuning in and making an event itself on what the weight is, and you can watch Friday night [Sept. 18] on what both fighters are going to be weighing."

You see I thought there was something wrong about the weight, none of us were sure enough... Floyd did say in press conferences "This is a WW fight" and obviously this article has some quotes saying he wasn't really considering going down to 144, also all these articles saying "either 144 or 143" at the end of the day if everything was sure they would know it for sure and not guess 143 to 144.

I kinda had a feeling something like this would happen were he wouldn't weigh 144.

Al Haymon, STFU. The CONTRACTED WEIGHT WAS 144 POUNDS.

Marquez's camp knew he wouldn't make it early as Wed. night.

All he did was post an article.

[-MAKAVELLI-]

All he did was post an article.

all i did was post an article yesterday and Al Haymon vehemently attacked me...sent me nasty PMs...called my mother names....scumbag of a poster i tell ya

[Ray*]

Now i definitely believe he didnt try to make 144...

[sandyvahra]

Richard Schaefer was telling you TWO MONTHS AGO that you must be at the weigh-in, and that it would be an anticipated weigh-in.

Did Schaefer and/or Oscar seem surprised or upset yesterday? i think they knew Floyd never planned to make 144, and they were cool with it. moreover, I think they are loving the controversy.

i'm looking back at all these articles and videos from the summer. They knew.

1) Who do you mean by "they'?


2) Oscar-Pac did not sell out, yet was a successful fight. Sellouts are not necessarily an indicator of financial success. Gatti would sell out Boardwalk hall, but only had one PPV.

Promoters prefer PPV sales to gate revenue.

They didn't seem surprised but i think its safe to say the press & public were surprised. The whole idea of 144 was to somewhat level the playing field. That is now gone. The fight was a tuneup to begin with, and now the last possible advantage jmm would have had is now gone. so what the guess weight as used as a way of people to go to the weigh in? the fight itself ideally should bring people in.

at the end of the day a mismatch is a mismatch, and this last advantage floyd has isnt needed nor is it worth the media backlash. all your article shows is that floyd never intended to make the weight and the promoters knew. it doesnt make misleading the public who thought it was at 144 right. i dont care what kind of contract it is, a contract is made to honour, not to be broken. its the principle of the matter and the manner in which it was done. if you cant acknowledge that i cant help you.

there was a fine for a reason, there was a reason nsac didnt get floyds papers until 4 hours before the weigh in, theres a reason why floyd went to team jmm on wed to restructure. MISLEADING THE PUBLIC.

It's a complete and utter mismatch. Thats why it hasnt sold out. Same reason for dlh-pac - perceived as a mismatch. ofcourse ppv sales are preferred, doesnt change the fact that this fight isn't a hot ticket.

[ColtraneChanges]

"This is a welterweight fight" is a disingenuous statement. It's pretty obvious that Floyd was being ambiguous on purpose. I think that's where most of the backlash stems from... if Floyd had no qualms about fighting at 147 from the beginning, he should have been forthright about it instead of *****footing for the last couple months. If anything it does cheapen Floyd's cred a little bit... the move maybe legally sound, but a ***** move nonetheless. This is the equivalent of being pulled over for going 36 in a 35 zone.

[Spacey1991]

all i did was post an article yesterday and Al Haymon vehemently attacked me...sent me nasty PMs...called my mother names....scumbag of a poster i tell ya

Well whatever, both of you are in the wrong and if I saw that I would have told him to stop bitching and moaning too.

It is a good article that says a lot too... and Dan Rafael doesn't come across to me like he is some biased **** who knows nothing about the sport (like that guy who does articles for examiner, Michael Marley is it?).

Anyway, what I am gonna say is... if you look back on Floyd's career he has barely ever, if ever tried draining himself to make weight... it is something you pick up on when watching his fights... he has only ever weighed a few pounds overnight... not like Cotto, Manny, Mosley and several other fighters, maybe he didn't want to try to dehydrate... maybe he just doesn't think its right or something, maybe he saw what happened to DLH when he sorely tried to make weight and ended up dehydrated on fight night (I know the same effect probably wouldn't happen to Floyd, but he might not of wanted to try it)... that's all I am gonna say, Floyd has pretty much always been the kinda guy to only put on a few pounds after the weigh in, and to be fair... I aint sure whether we will a huge difference in fight night weight if he had weighed in at 144... unless his body has changed through the layoff and he puts on quite a bit. Or even, he might have tried... but because of the lay off he struggled a bit, who knows.

It actually would be hilarious to me if Floyd got on the scale tonight and was 146-148. That would demonstrate that he put zero effort into making weight.

The guy was obviously completely unconcerned about weight. He was drinking water at the Thursday presser. He was out on the food distribution van this week.

Not necessarily... DLH tried to get down to 147 to fight Manny, put too much tension on his body and didn't rehydrate properly... this aint Manny's fault or anything, but its still a point to make.

[Al Haymon]

all i did was post an article yesterday and Al Haymon vehemently attacked me...sent me nasty PMs...called my mother names....scumbag of a poster i tell ya

Yeah. That's my style.