Topic: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18

[laitzu]

Obviously, the winner gets the biggest prize of all - a scheduled fight with Manny. Katulad ni JMM kating-kati na din itong si FMJ na makalaban si MP. 
 

http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=Aobu40mJt406sueC7lgp7l6UxLYF?slug=ki-mayweatherreturn050209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

LAS VEGAS – Boxing became a lot more intriguing on Saturday.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., the trash-talking, bling-wearing, erstwhile pound-for-pound king, announced he’ll return to the sport in a July 18 pay-per-view fight against Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

He punctuated the announcement by saying, “I left on top and I’m coming back on top. I’m here to fight and to reclaim what’s mine.”

The sports book at the MGM Grand clearly expects Mayweather to return in peak form. He opened as a minus-350 favorite, with Marquez, who is No. 2 in the Yahoo! Sports rankings, at plus-290.

Mayweather announced his retirement last June while he was still at the peak of his athletic and earning powers. He had just finished a year in which he defeated Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, setting a record for one man by selling a combined 3.4 million subscriptions on pay-per-view.

He was 39-0 with 25 knockouts and almost universally regarded as the sport’s pound-for-pound best fighter when he walked away, saying he’d lost his love for the sport.

But he was clearly energized during an over-the-top news conference at the MGM Grand on Saturday in which he vowed to fight all of the top fighters in the game.

Mayweather rebutted reports that he’s returning because he’s in desperate need of money. A report in a Detroit newspaper claimed he owes a nearly $7 million tax debt to the Internal Revenue Service.

He’ll earn an eight-figure paycheck for the bout against Marquez. Though he didn’t flat dismiss the reports of trouble with the IRS, he said he is financially secure. He boasted about his investments and said his two homes and his car, a Maybach that cost in excess of $500,000, are paid off.

“OK, let me see,” he said, beaming, when asked if he faced significant tax debt. “If that’s the case, if I were hurting for money, well, we all have to pay the IRS. Why do you ask? Because I like to take my time and pay them slow? I like to take my time and pay them slow. Some people like to rush and do things, but I like to take my time and do it. I don’t like to rush.

“When I kicked Oscar’s (De La Hoya) ass, I took my time and did it slow. I’m fine. I think I only have three cars. I got my Maybach out there. Everything is paid for. My house costs $15 million. It’s paid for. Another house costs $5 million. That’s paid for. My mother’s house is paid for. My kids have a college fund. I’m fine. They say a lot of things.”

Mayweather was his typical outrageous and trash-talking self. He said he was going to take his children bowling rather than watch the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Hatton, which was to take place only a mere hours after he spoke.

His manager, Leonard Ellerbe, said almost daily since Mayweather announced his retirement that he’s been asked when he might return.

“Wherever he goes, the malls, the grocery store, and even the strip clubs, people come up to Floyd and ask him when he’s coming back,” Ellerbe said.

Mayweather didn’t dog Marquez, as he’s done to many opponents. He said he believes Marquez won both of his fights against Pacquiao. The first Pacquiao-Marquez fight, in 2004, was a draw. The second, in 2008, was a split decision for Pacquiao.

But he made it clear that he expects few problems in winning the fight.

“I get fans coming up to me, all day every day, asking me about fights and who I think is going to win,” Mayweather said. “They’ve been asking about (Saturday’s fight between Pacquiao and Hatton) and who I think is going to win. I tell them that any man could win. It’s a gamble. But when you bet on Floyd Mayweather, that’s for sure money. If you ask me, you should put your money underneath your mattress and keep it until July 18. Put it on me and then you get a guaranteed return on your investment.”

It was hardly a surprise that he opted to come back. Many world-class boxers announce their retirement, but miss the money and the limelight and opt to come back.

Mayweather conceded he missed the competition and has been training off and on for several months. His return should inject a lot of life into a sport that is in the midst of one of its best years in a long time.

Fights against stalwarts such as Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley are all possibilities now.

“Line ‘em up and I’ll knock ‘em down,” Mayweather said.

It wouldn’t have been a Mayweather news conference without a bit of family feuding. Mayweather Jr. has an icy relationship with his father, Floyd Sr. He lauded his uncle, Roger, as the world’s best trainer.

Roger Mayweather took a cheap shot at Floyd Sr., saying, “My brother can’t train a dog.” For some reason, he then attacked Angelo Dundee, an 87-year-old Hall of Fame trainer who has nothing to do with the July fight.

He referenced Dundee’s famous line, “You’re blowing it, son,” to Sugar Ray Leonard during his first fight with Thomas Hearns.

“If you’re a great trainer, why don’t you tell him what to do?” Roger Mayweather said, waving his arms.

It didn’t make sense, but his nephew’s retirement didn’t make sense at the time, either.

Now that he’s back, he’ll invigorate an already hot sport.

“Mayweather is a character,” De La Hoya said. “A lot of people love him. A lot of people hate him. But you have to admit one thing: Everyone wants to know what he’s going to do.”