Floyd Mayweather Jr. is Officially Back
After months of speculation that this day was coming, it is officially here. Floyd Mayweather Jr., the former pound-for-pound king of boxing, is returning from his 11 month retirement and his 17 month hiatus from the ring as he will face lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18.
Upon his return to the ring in July, Mayweather will have been out of the ring for over 19 months, with his most recent fight being his knockout win over Ricky Hatton in December of 2007. Early in 2008, Mayweather reportedly told his advisers that they were free to listen to potential offers and to see what his boxing options would be.
Mayweather will square off with Marquez, who has been extremely impressive at lightweight, at a catchweight of 144 pounds on HBO Pay-Per-View at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather has fought his five most recent fights at welterweight or above, while Marquez has never fought above 135 pounds.
Part of the reason for Mayweather’s return is his alleged problems with the IRS. Despite making enormous amounts of money against both Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton, Mayweather had apparently found himself in some financial trouble, specifically tax trouble. His summer return against Marquez should bring a lucrative payday, but more importantly there is the potential for a mega-fight for mega-money against the Hatton-Manny Pacquiao winner if Mayweather defeats Marquez.
The camps of Mayweather and Marquez had been working on a deal for sometime and were very close before reaching a few sticking points in the final negotiations. Not only was settling the catchweight an issue that has been resolved, but the potential for Mayweather to sign with Don King has been averted, allowing this negotiation to move forward. It was reported that the final details were agreed to in a six-hour negotiating session on Friday afternoon.
Mayweather retired as the mythical pound-for-pound champion, having held that title in Ring magazine for nearly three years. At just 32-years old, Mayweather can walk right in and once again be a major player anywhere between 140 and 147 pounds. He is currently 39-0 with 25 knockouts.
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