Head Says Mayweather, Heart Says Marquez

Floyd is bigger, younger, and faster.  If he doesn't win, it'll shock the boxing world...maybe even the Marquez camp?

Juan Manuel Marquez following his fight with Marco Antonio Barrera

While there was no sign of it in HBO's first episode of the Mayweather v. Marquez 24/7 series, Michael Marley of Boxingconfidential.com is reporting that Nacho Beristain's mood is less than stellar.

Michael writes in his article "Gloom, doom pervades Juan Ma camp in Mexico City!" that “He’s told Mexican journalists that people are surrounding Juan Ma and his boxing brother, Rafael, and blowing up their heads,” one LA-based fight guy said. “Nacho has complained about not having any Mayweather style sparring also. Nacho is thrifty himself but he views promoter Golden Boy as thriftier.”

Alright, where does one find Mayweather style sparring these days?  Lets face it, the options are limited at best, and at least one of those options is a stakeholder in Golden Boy.

The tale of this fight may very well be told in how much Marquez can take before the fight is stopped due to cuts.  He won't quit, and he'll be game the entire fight, but he will take his lumps and chances are he'll take them early.

If he can persevere, as he's done several times in the past at lighter weights, the odds of him pulling off the upset improve.  He'll need a knockout though, because he's not going to get a decision over Golden Boy's golden boy in Vegas...no matter how many rounds he wins.

The Bigger Question?
Maybe the question isn't who will win the fight, but who will win the night...UFC or HBO PPV?   This is boxing's biggest star coming back to rake in the cash, but UFC 103 will likely put a substantial dent in to the PPV numbers.    I'm not knocking the UFC 103 card, but if it were up to me I would've stacked the deck a little higher for this one...you know, for sentimental reasons.