Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Juan Manuel Márquez
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| Date | September 19, 2009 | ||||||||||||
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| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | ||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||
| Floyd Mayweather, unanimous decision (120–107, 119–108, 118–109) | |||||||||||||
Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Márquez, billed as Number One/Número Uno, was a welterweight superfight which took place on September 19, 2009, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas between five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39–0, 25 KO) and three-division champion Juan Manuel Márquez (50–4–1, 37 KO). The fight served as a return to the ring for Mayweather, who, after his knock out victory of Ricky Hatton in December 2007, announced he would take a two-year layoff from boxing which later turned into retirement.[1]
Mayweather successfully returned, winning a unanimous decision.[2]
Details
The fight took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada under the promotion of Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions. It was contested at 146 pounds,[3] with no titles being on the line.
The fight was televised on HBO Pay-Per-View, with the cost to watch the fight at $49.95 in the US. It was also shown in movie theaters across the country via NCM Fathom.
This fight sold more than 1,000,000 PPV buys generating over $52 million in sales.[4]
Juan Manuel Márquez made a guaranteed $3.2 million, as well as an additional $600,000 due to Floyd Mayweather Jr. coming in two pounds over the 144 lbs weight limit. Floyd Mayweather earned $10.0 million.[5]
Hype
As part of the buildup for the fight, HBO produced an unprecedented four-part prelude. The series, titled Mayweather-Marquez 24/7, aired installments on the final three Sundays of September, with the fourth installment airing on Friday, September 18, one day before the fight. The series focused on each fighter's training and preparation for the bout. Promoted as the return of Floyd Mayweather, promoters labeled it Number One/Numero Uno due to Mayweather's previous position as pound-for-pound boxing champion and Marquez's position as Mexico's number one fighter.
Bout
The opening round was largely a feeling-out round as Mayweather worked with a quick jab and a lunging left hand. Marquez threw the occasional hook but was unable to connect against the speedy Mayweather. A minute into Round 2, Marquez landed a right hand that got the attention of Mayweather. A Mayweather left hook, however, caught Marquez coming in and put him down midway through the round. He was up quickly and received a mandatory eight-count. Mayweather continued to outbox Marquez in the third, finding success with the lunging left hook. Mayweather continued to show impeccable defensive skills in Round 4 making Marquez miss with most of his shots. Marquez did land another right hand in the final minute, however, that brought a smile to the face of Mayweather. By the end of Round 4, Mayweather had opened a small cut above the right eye of Marquez. Round 5 saw Mayweather continue to be too fast for Marquez. He began landing more frequently with both left and right hands. Marquez did seem to have a greater sense of urgency in Round 5 as he was clearly trailing on the cards. The disparity between the two fighters grew in the 6th as Mayweather began landing a lead right hand that at one point wobbled Marquez, who had begun bleeding from the nose. Marquez was simply unable to land against the supremely quick Mayweather, who either dodged the attack outright or shoulder rolled it with ease. Round 7 saw Mayweather continuing to land with the jab and looking to land uppercuts as Marquez came in. Marquez at one point had Mayweather backed into the ropes but could not connect against Mayweather's movement. In the last minute of Round 8, Mayweather backed against the ropes and encouraged Marquez to attack, at which Marquez came in wildly throwing hooks to the body. As the bell rang, Mayweather smiled walking to his corner attempting to further aggravate Marquez. Marquez opening the 9th Round strong and was able to land against Mayweather intermittently. A big left hand, however, caught Marquez flush toward the end of the round. The 10th Round continued with much of the same; Mayweather landing the occasional lunging left hand and lead right and Marquez showing desire but not connecting with anything of significance. In the 11th Round, Marquez continued to show effort but still took big punches. The final round went like the many previous with Mayweather totally in control.
Reception
The Bout generated 1 million pay-per-view buys,[6] and is just the sixth highest ranking non-heavyweight event to generate 1 million buys on a list headed by Mayweather's split-decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, which had a record 2.44 million. This was later beaten by the reported 1.25 million Pacquiao-Cotto fight.
Controversy
Because Marquez had never before fought above 135 lbs and had fought at 130 lbs as recently as March 2008, while Mayweather had campaigned at 147 lbs since 2005, the fight was scheduled to take place at a catchweight of 144 lbs[3] to account for the size disparity between the two fighters. The fight was originally scheduled for July 18, 2009 at the MGM Grand arena but was postponed due to a rib injury sustained by Mayweather. The bout was rescheduled for September 19, 2009.[7] During the official weigh in for their 144 lb bout, Marquez weighed in at 142 lbs and Mayweather weighed in at 146 lbs thereby incurring a financial penalty ($300,000 for each pound over 144 lbs[5]) as he was 2 pounds over the catchweight.[8] It was later revealed that the contract was changed a few days prior to the weigh in so that Mayweather would be allowed to weigh up to the welterweight limit of 147 lbs while avoiding paying an additional fine to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in addition to the fine he agreed to pay to Marquez.[5]
Fight Card
Televised
- Welterweight bout:
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. 
Juan Manuel Márquez
- Mayweather defeats Marquez via Unanimous Decision. (120-107, 119-108, 118-109)
- Featherweight Championship bout:
Chris John vs. Rocky Juarez
- John defeats Juarez via Unanimous Decision. (119-109, 117-111, 114-113)
- Lightweight bout:
Michael Katsidis vs. Vicente Escobedo
- Katsidis defeats Escobedo via Split Decision. (118-110, 115-113, 112-116)
Preliminary card
- Featherweight bout: Cornelius Lock vs.
Orlando Cruz
- Lock defeats Cruz via Technical Knockout at 2:08 of the fifth round.
- Welterweight bout:
Said Ouali vs. Francisco Rios Gil
- Ouali defeats Rios Gil via Technical Knockout at 1:27 of the second round.
- Middleweight bout:
Erislandy Lara vs. 
Jose Varela
- Lara defeats Varela via Knockout at 2:12 of the first round.
- Light Welterweight bout: Jesse Vargas vs. Raul Tovar
- Vargas defeats Tovar via Unanimous Decision. (60-52, 60-52, 59-53)
- Super Middleweight: Dion Savage vs. Loren Myers
- Savage defeats Myers via Technical Knockout at 0:22 of the fourth round.
- Lightweight bout: Michael Perez vs. Richard Ellis
- Perez defeats Ellis via Unanimous Decision. (40-34, 39-35, 38-36)
International broadcasting
The exclusive coverage in the Mayweather-Marquez fight at the following international broadcasters:
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References
- ^ BBC SPORT | Boxing | Mayweather announces retirement
- ^ Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Juan Manuel Marquez in 12 in his return - ESPN
- ^ a b Mayweather-Marquez To Take Place at 144, Not 147 - Boxing News
- ^ Floyd Mayweather Jr. becoming pay-per-view king | theGrio
- ^ a b c Floyd Mayweather Jr. owes Juan Manual Marquez $600K after weighing two pounds overweight - ESPN
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/207315-mayweather-marquez-rescheduled-for-september-19 Brian O. Blake
- ^ Mayweather in weight flap for Marquez bout