There is no media market in the world as unforgiving, as competitive and as skeptical as New York City. Particularly in regards to sports, where the Yankees and Knicks routinely dish out record contracts to athletes whose jobs are not nearly vital enough to justify their salaries.
Golden Boy Promotions brought the circus to town this past Tuesday on the second stop of the press tour to hype the July 18 showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Juan Manuel Marquez, which is set to take place at Las Vegas' MGM Grand. A sizeable turnout of media showed up to the Empire State Building where 80 floors into the sky two of the sport's biggest names met face to face.
The story lines were there: The acknowledged best fighter in the world when he "retired" in 2007 returning to face one of the top 4 fighters in the world fresh off of two consecutive knockout wins over champions who had never previously been stopped. If that wasn't enough, the Mexico City native made his reputation for giving the current consensus pound for pound best Manny Pacquiao his two toughest fights in a pair of disputed bouts.
As I got settled into my surroundings and awaited the beginning of the press conference, I noticed the media excitement was not nearly on par with the elaborate setup and promotion of the event. There wasn't the feeling that something special, something historically significant, was upon us.
Perhaps it's because Marquez, aged 35, is 16 years into a 55 fight pro career that has left the scars of battle all over his stern face. In his previous fight, a ninth round knockout of Juan Diaz in February, the size and strength advantage of the younger man created more than a few tense moments for Marquez. It was only Marquez's second fight at 135; this fight is set for a catch-weight of 144.
"I've got to prepare myself mentally because it's a tough fight in a division I'm not accustomed to competing in," Marquez said.
Mayweather has won a world title as high as 154 pounds, just shy of 20 pounds north of Marquez's highest weight. His first world title came at 130 pounds when he stopped Genaro Hernandez in 1998. Marquez has spent much of his career at 126, only venturing north in the past two years in search of bigger money.
Or maybe it's the fact that, at 32 years old, Mayweather has seemingly matured from an obnoxious braggart to a more subdued politician ala Oscar de la Hoya. As Mayweather took the podium, he went out of his way to compliment the first opponent in his comeback.
"He's a hell of a fighter, a true warrior," Mayweather said, 39-0 (25 KO). "I'm not going to come in here and saying I hate him, I've done that.
"When you had Floyd Mayweather that was just calm, they didn't really write about me too much. Bob Arum was telling me to be a certain way. I think when I approach things I wanted to approach them, biggest star in the sport."
Commendable? Yes. But compelling? Hardly, particularly when you factor in Marquez's natural humility.
"He's a great fighter," Marquez said. "He's pretty cool but once in awhile you can see a little of his ego come out like any great champion in any sport. It motivates me to be able to beat somebody like that and put my heart and soul into it."
Richard Schaffer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, took the lead in the presser and did his best to sell the event, pointing out how Hopkins wasn't supposed to beat Pavlik and Pacquiao wasn't supposed to beat de la Hoya as reasons why not to write this off as a mismatch.
His approach at times was a little more direct.
"It's going to be one of those mega-fights that we all can't wait to see. When we have [HBO reality series] '24/7', they really take it over the top to the mainstream. This is truly an event that the fans really want to get behind."
If you say so. Still, when boxing fans envision dream matchups - ones they could really "get behind" - few beckoned to see Mayweather tangle with Marquez. Schaffer was accurate in saying that, like Muhammad Ali, a great deal of the people paying to see the fight will be doing so in hopes of seeing Mayweather lose. Few believe this is the fight Mayweather will pick up his first "L" in.
"Floyd didn't step into the ring with Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito or Paul Williams when he had the chance," author Thomas Hauser summarized. "He stepped in with smaller fighters like Ricky Hatton or an older Oscar de la Hoya. Marquez is coming up in size and there's the point where you can no longer reconfigure your body to be competitive.
"The boxing media sees Marquez as an opponent in this fight. I'm sure he's coming to win because he's a very skilled fighter."
"How much do you believe the public has missed Floyd Mayweather Jr?" this writer posed.
"Very little, and I think you'll see with the PPV for this fight that it doesn't come close to what they did for Mayweather-De la Hoya or Mayweather-Hatton," Hauser replied bluntly. "My sense is that Mayweather needs a bankable dance partner for a big money PPV fight. Marquez will inject some vibes in the Hispanic community, especially if they pair it with a good co-feature.
"I would be surprised if this sells as well as Pacquiao-Hatton. Obviously people will be watching the PPV numbers because if negotiations begin for Pacquiao-Mayweather, there will be a lot of jockeying for percentages."
The omnipresent Paulie Malignaggi concurs with Hauser, feeling that this fight is made to order for a Mayweather domination.
"I think Mayweather is too big for Marquez," the former junior welterweight champion said. "If Marquez gives Mayweather any problems in any way, I believe it's because Floyd has lost a step. If Floyd is Floyd, he's just too big and too fast. Not to take anything from Marquez but it's just a little too much took handle when you have skill and size to deal with. If this fight is competitive in any way, I don't know how much it would be because of Marquez or Mayweather declining.
"We have to see what Floyd has left after two years off. You can take two years off maybe at 24 or 25, but not at 30 or 32. If Floyd performs at a really high level again, you have to give him a lot more credit."
Bert Randolph Sugar, regarded as a living legend in boxing media, looks at the fight in an entirely different manner.
"Marquez is no tuneup, he's going to give him one hell of a fight.
"I only know one man who came off of a sizeable layoff the same and that was Sugar Ray Leonard. I just don't know what that's done. I remember one fighter named Wilfred Benitez, when you swung all you caught was an ear. When he slowed down, he got the bijabbers kicked out of him. Will that happen to Floyd who does a lot of this," Sugar said as he mimicked Mayweather's shoulder roll defense.
"In the last five years, you would look at the results and say Marquez. He has fought better fighters, Pacquiao twice, Diaz. Who in the hell is Carlos Baldomir? Zab Judah? Past his prime Oscar and only wins by one point?
"I think Mayweather's hand speed is faster but he only throws one punch at a time. Marquez throws punches in the proverbial bunches. I think that's going to be an interesting factor to see if Floyd can deal with it. He can't put himself on the ropes like he did with Hatton. He knew he could just counter him in between.
"Mayweather's gotta come down to 144, is it easier to come up or go down? Oscar drained himself against Pacquiao, Antonio Tarver couldn't make it coming after Rocky. It gets tough and he has no body fat so where does it come from? It comes from muscle. When you have a lot of imponderables, you have a great fight."
Then Mr. Sugar made a prediction that no one could argue with.
"All I can tell you is that I'm going to bet on the man whose name starts with M-A."
Harold Lederman, HBO's unofficial inhouse judge, downplays the size difference, which to the untrained eye did not appear to be as pronounced as some have made it out to be.
"Marquez is not that much smaller. He's a talented guy and is always in good shape. Mayweather has to be a little rusty. I think it's going to be a little more competitive because he's been away for so long. Floyd is the kind of guy who has probably been in the gym the whole time he's been retired. Marquez always fights back when he's losing, and that's what makes great fights."
"Do you think he'll have to fight back when he's losing in this fight?" I asked.
"Oh yeah," Lederman says as he lets out a chuckle. "Oh yeah. Floyd is something special, there is no doubt about that."
Essentially every other writer I surveyed felt the fight was a sham but nonetheless a fight will take place. None of the conjecture or pre-fight predictions mean a thing once the men are in the ring.
Perhaps no one in the room was more aware of this fact than Marquez himself.
"He's not a machine, he's a human being. I'm going to be ready for whatever he comes out with."
Tales From The Cutting Room Floor
- Just as he does for each fight, Marquez will be training at elevation in the mountains of his native Mexico. In search of heavy things to pick up to gain mass, Marquez is settling on boulders. An old school approach that evokes memories of grainy footage of Joe Louis chopping wood in lumberjack attire or George Foreman pulling an automobile attached to a harness.
- In all of the times I've run into Bert Sugar, I've always seen him wearing a fedora and carrying an unlit cigar in his right hand. However, I've never seen him take a single drag. I kept this in mind when I approached him for this piece and did a little detective work. After noticing the aroma of cigar smoke, I have come to the conclusion that he indeed does smoke them, just not indoors at boxing events apparently.
My untrained nostrils could not tell you what brand he smokes and I didn't bother to inquire.
- One fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. always seems to have an opinion on is Manny Pacquiao. In 2007 I merely mentioned the name of the current junior welterweight champion to "Money" at a press conference to announce his fight with de la Hoya. A rant worthy of it's own article ensued that proved to be excellent copy.
This time around someone else took the initiative, inspiring an equally passionate response.
"If Manny Pacquiao wants to say he's number one, let him. In box office, Floyd Mayweather is number one. His credentials are stretched a lot. I've never been dropped or knocked out. If he wants to be number one pound for pound, let him. If he's in his 30s too, where was he in 1997 to 1999? I was only a teenager dominating in this sport."
Even the squad at ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, who know boxing like Prince Naseem knows humility, understand that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is a fight that needs to happen.
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