by Ryan Jacques

Created on: August 31, 2009   Last Updated: September 04, 2009

What to Expect on Fight Night

Floyd Mayweather and Juan Manuel Marquez are scheduled to fight on September 19 in Las Vegas. Mayweather came out of retirement to take the fight against Marquez, the Ring magazine number 2 rated pound-for -pound fighter. Is this the superfight it's billed to be though, or just another sleeper fight that is getting hype to sell PPV buys? Let's break down each fighter's strengths and weaknesses and see.

Size: Floyd Mayweather is a naturally bigger man. He has a height advantage of 2 inches and a reach advantage of 5 inches. Not only that but he has been fighting at this weight for much longer. That means his body is more accustomed to it and has probably adapted by putting on more muscle. Marquez is moving all the way up from 135 which is where he had his last fight. That's a jump of two weight classes, he wasn't known as a having one-punch knockout power and the jump will probably diminish the power he already had.
Advantage: Mayweather

Speed: Mayweather is definitely the faster of the two. Mayweather has been known his entire career for his speed. He has phenomenal hand and foot speed. His reflexes are also great which allow him to use the speed very effectively. He also has never taken a bad beating so there is no reason to think they have diminished at all. At 32 years of age, with his outstanding work ethic, he still has it. Marquez is by no means slow, but he doesn't have speed like Mayweather. He's 36 years old coming into this fight and he has slowed down in the last couple of years. Plus we also have to remember that he's moving up two weight classes and that will slow him down as well. His fighting style isn't based on speed, so it's not critical for him to win, but it would definitely help.
Advantage: Mayweather

Experience: Marquez has fought world class competition his entire career. His last 3 fights have been against Pacquiao, Casamayor, and Juan Diaz. That's 3 current or former world champions, and the pound-for-pound king in Pacquiao. He knocked out Casamayor and Diaz and lost a controversial decision to Pacquiao. Before that he came off two victories against Marco Antonio Barrera and Rocky Juarez. His resume is a veritable who's who in boxing. Mayweather has also fought many big names. His last two fights were a decision victory against De La Hoya and a knockout win against Ricky Hatton. However, De La Hoya was already on the down side of his career. While Floyd has fought many other big name opponents, it was

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