Floyd Mayweather jnr returned from a near two-year ring absence with a punishing 12-round decision over Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday.
Mayweather remained unbeaten, improving to 40-0 with 25 wins inside the distance. Marquez fell to 50-5-1 with the defeat in the non-title welterweight bout.
Mayweather knocked Marquez down in the second round and was never seriously hurt by the game but smaller opponent. Mayweather was awarded the victory by scores of 118-109, 120-107 and 119-108.
Mayweather’s last previous fight was his technical knockout of England’s Ricky Hatton in December 2007, the same year he posted another big win over Oscar de la Hoya.
“I’ve been off two years, but I can get better,” Mayweather said.
Certainly the six-time world champion in five different weight divisions looked far from rusty as he launched a campaign to show he’s still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
That’s a title lately bestowed by most on Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao, who is slated to take on Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto here on November 14.
A victory for Pacquiao could perhaps pave the way for a mega-fight with Mayweather.
Pacquiao was similarly mismatched last year when he defeated Oscar de la Hoya, but on the evidence offered Saturday Mayweather could prove a different, more difficult challenge.
Mayweather had the advantage in height at 1.73m and in reach and made the most of both.
He punished Marquez with his jab and hurt him repeatedly with his left as the Mexican could find no answer for Mayweather’s hand and leg speed.
Marquez managed to land a solid right in the second, but Mayweather responded with two lefts, the second of which put Marquez on the canvas.
“There are no excuses, but I really felt the difference in weight,” said Marquez, the reigning World Boxing Association lightweight world champion who moved up to take the bout. “We tried to work with his speed, but the obvious difference was the weight. It was considerable.”
At Friday’s weigh-in, Marquez was four pounds lighter than Mayweather, who failed to make the limit of 144 pounds and paid a monetary penalty.
Elusive and incisive, Mayweather connected with shots from every angle, above all with his left, and in the fifth round sent Marquez to his corner with blood leaking from his nose.
“He’s tough as nails,” Mayweather said. “He’s a great little man.”
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