When Juan Manuel Marquez fought Floyd Mayweather back in September 2009 at a heavier weight than he had competed at before his physique was somewhat 'soft' and fleshy looking by his previous standards. This was in all probability the result not having to stick to a rigid diet regime as he would have previously in all of his years as a fighter to be at a precise weight 24 hours before the contest. In preparation for all of his previous battles he would trim down bodyfat and thus lose weight during training camp to be on the money for the title shot fights and defences that he took-but not this time, and that lack of real hunger probably took something of the edge out of him that night against Mayweather. What was also evident at that time was that he had not at that time chose to use a progressive weight training regime to make sure the extra pounds were lean muscle mass as was the secret of so many other greats before him who had gone up through weight divisions winning titles such as Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones. These guys in particular always looked cut and chiselled even when putting on weight for fights as they were outstanding in always utilising the most modern training techniques and were not caught up with 'dinosaur' boxing trainers who believed lifting weights was only for Mr Universe competitors.
Not a man to make the same mistake twice, when Marquez challenged Pacquiao for the fourth time at a similar weight at which he had fought Floyd he hit the Free-weights in the gym hard and the result was a tough and grizzled, granite-like physique and the extra power he had gained showed in his confident performance-he was probably at his best ever at the fourth Pacquiao fight-which for him is saying a lot. Back to Mayweather, we all should have no doubt that Floyd will only ever be beaten if and when his confidence brings him forwards with his defence down towards an injured foe that appears to be there for the taking as was the case with Manny and Marquez in their last fight. Marquez did his trademark left jab even as he was desperately hurt in the last seconds of the fight, then he dipped his body to the left side, a manoeuvre he usually follows with a left hook to the body-except this time he didn't throw the punch that he so often does from this crouched position but instead, with incredible instinctive reactions, seeing even with his head dipped, through his peripheral vision that Manny's head was in the ideal position he instead threw that peach of an overhand right-similar to the one that had put Manny down previously but from a lower position and worse still, for Manny, to an opponent with his guard down and moving forward fast, in for the kill of a seemingly vanquished foe. Caution was thrown to the wind and Manny, desperate to rid himself of this thorn in his side once and for all in a truly emphatic victory come unstuck against a fighter that he should have known would never give up trying to win despite being hurt and more importantly would be as dangerous as a wounded lion until his last breath. Marquez has many times snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against world class opponents and can never be underestimated. In any case, the universal tumblers of fate and timing all clicked together for a split second and the fight was unlocked for Marquez as he finally figured out the beating of Pacquiao and Manny moved forward onto the biggest punch he had taken in his life. These guys could fight again a dozen times and we would possibly never see the same outcome again. It only takes a second of carelessness to lose at this elite level by knockout and these top guys don't get careless very often.
During his spectacular career Floyd Mayweather has been caught with some huge punches in fights like that with DeMarcus Corley through to Shane Mosley to name just two but his chin is solid and he rarely makes the same mistake twice. He has never been caught flush while moving forward simply because he is just too skilled and has the best reactions in the sport. This was shown in the way he handled First-class-World-class counter puncher Marquez with breathtaking ease in their fight in 2009 and so the only question that arises in regard to his next fight on May 4th is how long will the referee let Floyd beat up on poor old Robert Guerrero? Robert is a strong and durable fighter typical of a Mexican but he brings nothing to the ring in the skills department that Floyd hasn't seen before and possibly even less in the ways of footwork than Floyd is used to dealing with-Guerrero's only chance is over confidence on Floyd's part, allowing himself to fall asleep, and thus bringing him forward to walk onto a big punch and the chances of that happening are somewhere between slim and none. We should all just face it; no one has the skills to truly whip Mayweather, he can only beat himself through carelessness of the kind seen in Manny's last fight. Marquez is such an exceptional professional in that he was able to keep his composure during extreme pressure and pain and to still have the ability to unleash a perfect punch from the very edge of defeat. When Marquez fought Mayweather he blew it by not being in his best possible shape. He needed to consult the weight training experts and nutritionists to stand any chance against Floyd and maybe even then the outcome would have probably been the same-we may never know. In any case, Marquez was then acknowledged as the pound for pound number-two fighter in the world-and Mayweather beat him comparatively easily by a wide point's decision margin. Marquez took this in his stride and instead of becoming a journeyman 'opponent' as many thought he would he bounced back at 39 years old, stepped up and shook up the World by knocking out the seemingly invulnerable Manny Pacquiao. Marquez is a very rare fighter and Floyd is unlikely to run into his calibre again and even if he should, he is far less likely to make the error Pacquiao did.