Floyd Mayweather Insists He, Not Manny Pacquiao, Is The Man

Floyd Mayweather Jr. debunked Manny Pacquiao's present status as boxing's best fighter, pound-for-pound, insisting, among other things, that the 2009 Fighter Of The Year's consecutive knockouts over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton were against foes he had already exposed.

"Once again, when I beat those guys, it wasn't nothing. But when [Pacquiao] beat them, 'Oh, it's so unbelievable,' and, 'We've never seen something so crazy,'" said Mayweather, 32, in response to questions from FanHouse during a recent conference call. "They're commentating and they've never been in the heat of battle."

Mayweather (39-0, 25 knockouts), who retired after a 10th-round stoppage of England's Hatton in December of 2007, will end a near two-year layoff when he enters the ring on Sept. 19 opposite Juan Manuel Marquez, a 36-year-old former champion with a record of 50-4 with 37 knockouts.

Marquez, who will be competing at his highest weight ever when he meets Mayweather at their catchweight of 144 pounds, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, has twice faced Pacquiao (49-3, 37 KOs) of the Phillipines.

They battled to a draw in May of 2004 after Marquez was knocked down three times in the first round, and Marquez lost a decision during their second meeting in March of 2008.

Marquez is coming off of consecutive stoppages of former champs, Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, in 11 and nine rounds respectively, while weighing 135 and 134.5 in those bouts.

In an exclusive interview from Mexico City on Tuesday, Marquez told Fanhouse that he weighed 143 pounds. Pacquiao will meet World Boxing Organization welterweight king, Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand.

But Mayweather has taken heat unfairly for choosing to return to the ring against what is considered an aging, smaller man in Marquez, a Mexico City native and former featherweight (125 pounds) and superfeatherweight (130).

Long resentful at the boxing media for discounting his status as the sport's premiere player, Mayweather believes he should receive credit for facing a man Pacquiao already has beaten just as the Filipino has in defeating De La Hoya and Hatton.

Mayweather was at a career-high 150 pounds when dethroned 154-pound De La Hoya as World Boxing Council light middleweight champion in May of 2007.

That victory came seven months before becoming the first man to knock out Hatton, who lost for the first time in 44 bouts. Hatton had just come off of a fourth-round knockout of Jose Luis Castillo.

Mayweather, meanwhile, contended that Pacquiao's KOs -- in eight, and, two rounds, respectively -- were against one man who was physically drained from weight loss in De La Hoya, and another, in Hatton, who was in transition from a brawling style to that of a boxer.

"De La Hoya was more comfortable at 154 when he fought me. When he fought Pacquiao, he was basically on a diet," Mayweather said of De La Hoya, who weighed 145 pounds against Pacquiao's 142. "De La Hoya was training to lose weight instead of training to fight."

Hatton was in only his second bout under longtime De La Hoya trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. -- known for teaching boxing technique and head movement -- after having split with longtime trainer, Billy Graham.

"Hatton was switching styles. I think that his head was straight up in the air. [Plus,] once you've been knocked out, there's no doubt that you can get knocked out again," said Mayweather.

"I sit back and ask myself questions like, 'Where was this guy Pacquiao when I was dominating in the 90s?'" Mayweather said. "But where would I be if I didn't have my critics, huh?," Mayweather asked. "Where would I be?"

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

9-08-2009 @ 4:55PM

accacruz said...

Pacman will do the same thing what he did to Delajoya and Hatton dont make him really mad or else you will ends up in a hospital...

9-08-2009 @ 9:56PM

wslj2 said...

i love pacman and i love his style. but please dont make the mistake of thinking he can beat floyd. no doubt floyd can be cocky and sometimes that does get old. but the only thing that can beat floyd is floyd. if he comes back in the same shape he was in when he retired he is untouchable at this point. his hand spead is beyond compare and he moves like no one else in the sport. it is almost like watching a great painter to watch him fight. again the only thing out there right now that could beat floyd is floyd. he trains like no one else in the sport. many times when a fighter is as gifted as floyd they rely too much on that god given talent. floyd has the talent and still gets in the gym and puts in the grueling work. this is what seperates him from everyone else. the only way floyd loses is if he does like almost every other prize fighter in history and stays around long enough that his skills fall off and bring him down to the same level as the other fighters. at this point he is simply the total package.

9-10-2009 @ 11:53PM

emoe said...

Win or loose marquez is gonna make it a good fight.He gives the fans what they want a fight.Somethin mayweather knows nothing about.all mayweather do is run,not stick and move run!and I'm said to say he is going to run all night,what a boring fighter.Please Mayweather get this pay day and pay off the IRS and retire for good.By the way I hope your business people got their thinking caps on,because when you fought oscar and he gave you a whipping in the ring he also gave you a whipping at the banks. the fight generated over 120 million$ mayweather got 19million$ and oscar and his golden boy company made 100million$ Believe me when I tell you, oscar whipped mayweather in more ways than one.

9-16-2009 @ 2:02AM

lucifer906 said...

Don't post comments if you don't know what you are talking about. Oscar made 58mil Floyd 25 mil.

9-09-2009 @ 9:50AM

lilmel70 said...

Is Floyd vs Pacman be the match of the year if they ever fight?

9-09-2009 @ 9:59AM

i normally wouldnt even bother to respond to someone who speaks no better then you with your " punk that love " " like he claim to be " and last but not least " floyd his a punk " for the love of pete kid read a book or a news paper or something. learn the language. that said i would love to see margarito vs mayweather. i mean in a fair fight without margarito having plaster casts on his fists. i like cotto as well but no way he could touch floyd. as far as his uncle. i am not a fan of all the talk that the mayweathers do but roger was a pretty damn good fighter in his own right. then again that is why mayweather is the big draw in boxing now with oscar gone. his attitude and his mouth and the mad skills he has makes him the man as far as box office draw.

9-11-2009 @ 12:18AM

roger mayweather got his butt whipped on the regular.you know why?he had to fight the number one contender.floyd get to pick and choose.if floyd fought by the rules he would have about seven looses on his record by now.I give roger mayweather credit for being a fool.he fought the great chevez and got the whipping of his life and came back for a rematch and got whipped again,and didn't want a third fight because he would have got whipped again.their were others in the 80's and the 90's that made sure roger mayweather was a true punching bag.

9-09-2009 @ 10:03AM

Ronald. What up? said...

Sounds like there are some haters occupying space in this room. Let's be clear: Pacman goes down before the fifth round. Why? Bcz Floyd jaws him one good time at the end of the fourth with that world-reknowned hand speed and power. Pacman hears that "game over" sound that lets you know one of the ghosts in the game caught up with you & he falls out. Any questions?

9-09-2009 @ 1:53PM

Sky's the limit! said...

I dont remember Floyd having a heavy hands...he wont knock out Manny even if his life depended on it. Floyd will be sore by the time the 12 round bell rings because manny will punch him for 12 straight rounds.

9-09-2009 @ 10:19AM

DM said...

The difference between PacMan and Floyd.

1. Floyd is envious of PacMan's success. PacMan doesn't envy anyone.

2. PacMan fights every second of every round and never runs around. Floyd, runs around pretty much the whole 12 rounds. Hence, PacMan is exciting,while Floyd is boring.

3. Floyd brags about his wealth, every chance he gets. Manny talks about helping the poor, every chance he gets.

4. Manny isn't afraid of anyone, Floyd on the other hand is famous for ducking the fights he should be fighting.

5. Floyd talks thrash to his opponents, Manny is soft-spoken, never talks thrash, prays to God that his opponents doesn't get hurt. But he hurts them anyhow.

6. Manny is no.1, Floyd is 2 or 3.

Last but not least,

7. Manny's willing to fight Floyd. While Floyd is afraid of Manny.

9-11-2009 @ 12:48AM

I agree,mayweather is envious of pacman success,pacman has more money and fame and he is a more exciting figher.pacman is a well rounded business man and mayweather is just dumb.and the people around him is dumb.just look at the figures from the de'la hoya vs mayweather fight.19million$ for mayweather and over 100million$ for oscar and his golden boy INC.THINK ABOUT IT.PEACE

ricdarulah7 said...

floyd will destroy this boy,sadly he may bring DEATH, for the simple fact the Pacman will not concede, therefore causing Floyd to pour it on relentlessly just as BoomBoom Mancinni did with the Korean fighter sadly in the what?80's this is not a joke, Pacman has the same mentality but Floyd can be extremly brutal if necessary so dont get it twisted, i know a lot of people in America dont like a confident blackman,and will go opposite just on that reason alone, but Floyd will dismantle and hurt this boy FOR SURE,and possible hurt him or handicap him mentally, be very careful with this one,Floyd is EXTREMELY SKILLFULL,a TRUE brutal beatdown simply because of Pacmans destructive PRIDE.

9-09-2009 @ 10:33AM

Floyd Sr.? Is that you? Seriously, you sounded like Floyd on what Hatton would do to Pacquiao.

9-09-2009 @ 1:22PM

Nolly U. Omega said...

Bragging rights of Floyd is yesterday's news. The future is Pacquiao. The only reservation I have for Pacquiao is the lack of esteem he commented to his coach as "only a trainer".

9-09-2009 @ 1:55PM

Cotto won't touch Floyd? Is this the same Cotto that beat Mosley? Another guy that Floyd keeps on ducking. Miguel not touching Floyd is like saying Barack Obama aint black. Keep watching boxing.

9-09-2009 @ 6:57PM

yeah im talking about the same cotto you are. i like cotto. he seems to be a class act but he gets hurt and either goes down or almost goes down in every fight. he is a warrior no doubt about that. but anyone who watches sports knows that speed kills. cotto is a very good fighter. mayweather just happens to be the best. end of story. mayweather would stop cotto in an ugly fight where cotto chased him around the ring looking foolish. like i said before i am not a fan of all the trash talk that mayweather does. but when you are the man you can say what you want i guess. the only person on this planet within three weight classes that could beat floyd is floyd. if he didnt train right or if he lost focus. the problem boxers he fights and people who dont like him have to face is that he doesnt lose focus. he happens to be one of those athletes born with talent enough to be a champ on pure talent. compound that by the fact that when training for a fight no one trains harder or puts in more work then him. right now he is simply the best.

9-10-2009 @ 12:36AM

Remember when Mosley fought Cotto and people could'nt stop talking about how Mosley is too fast for Cotto and he'll beat him? Yeah speed kills. Who won that fight again? Anyway Floyd has speed and so does Manny, but Manny has a little more behind his punches. I can't say that about Gayweather.