NEW YORK — When Floyd Mayweather Jr. walked away from boxing, he was widely considered the pound-for-pound king, the mythical mantle bestowed upon the best in the game.
Now that he’s back, at least one person believes Mayweather still is: lightweight champ Juan Manual Marquez, whom he’ll face in his highly anticipated return.
“I’m expecting the best Floyd Mayweather ever,” Marquez said Tuesday, at a news conference on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building to help launch the fight. “I’m putting in my mind that he never retired, so I’m expecting the best.”
The two will meet July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where tickets are scheduled to go on sale Friday. They’ll fight at a catch-weight of about 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest that Mayweather has been since 2005.
Neither believes the weight will make much difference.
Mayweather already has been in the gym a couple of months, ever since giving his adviser Leonard Ellerbe the green-light to screen potential opponents. Mayweather claims he’s close to 147 pounds and pronounced himself fit after a run through Central Park on Tuesday morning…Full Story
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