The (inevitable) return of Floyd

**BaronVonDingDong** · Posted On: 3/19/2009 4:25pm

Money's in it for the money:

Floyd Mayweather Jr wants to return to the ring as soon as 11 July and friends say he would welcome a rematch after with Ricky Hatton. The enigmatic American last fought 15 months ago, stopping Hatton in the 10th round of their World Boxing Council welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.What has inspired Mayweather's interest in a comeback – apart from his free-spending lifestyle – is the light-welterweight showdown in Las Vegas on 2 May between Hatton and Manny Pacquiao . If the Filipino wins he will cement his reputation as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world with a title at a fifth weight, equalling Mayweather, who was the undisputed pound-for-pound champion before retiring last year.

If Hatton beats Pacquiao, a second fight with Mayweather would present the intriguing prospect of the American fighting an opponent trained by his own father. If held in Las Vegas, it would also bring to the promotion Hatton's 30,000-strong army of fanatical Mancunian supporters.

A source close to Mayweather told ESPN.com: "He is coming back. I've been around him. He's ready to dance again very soon. He's itching to go. The way he sounded, he is willing to take on whoever they throw in his face. He would do the Pacquiao-Hatton winner, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Márquez. The only one he doesn't have an interest in is [a rematch with] Oscar De La Hoya.But in Floyd's mind, he knows there is one Godzilla, and that's a fight with Pacquiao."

Márquez, the new World Boxing Organisation and World Boxing Association lightweight champion touted as a possible future opponent for Amir Khan after the Bolton fighter's fifth-round technical cuts stoppage win over Marco Antonio Barrera on Saturday night, has also been mentioned as an opponent for Mayweather at light-welterweight. Mayweather has teased the media on a regular basis about coming back. But the latest noises – added to the confirmation last week by Floyd Mayweather Sr, Hatton's trainer, that his son was "definitely" looking for another fight – sound convincing.

He needs to shed the ring rust before he takes on either Pacquiao or Hatton, though. Broadcaster HBO, with whom Mayweather made major money in five of his last six bouts, has an 11 July free-to-air slot lined up for the new cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek to defend against Bernard Hopkins, but neither fighter is a big draw."They don't want to upset Floyd," ESPN's source said, "and they hope the situation resolves itself."
"Money" Mayweather, as he calls himself, has had a large tax debt, gambles on American football and hinted he needed to replenish his stocks when he dabbled briefly in WWE last March in a farcical match against the 7ft Big Show. Mayweather is still one of the few marquee names in American boxing, a genuine ring artist unbeaten in 39 fights over 11 yearswho has won six world titles at five weights.

He was 32 last month and is a flamboyant partygoer, but he is also a dedicated gym addict who is always in shape. Hatton, who leaves for the United States on 29 March, was not immediately available for comment.

His father and manager, Ray, said recently they would gladly entertain a rematch with Mayweather. Ideally, they would like the fight at the City of Manchester Stadium, but the economics suggest it would be held at one of the big casinos in Las Vegas.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

I want Hatton to beat Pacquiao for the sake of national sentiment, then Pacquiao to beat the crap out of Mayweather for the sake of boxing.

**Hurt** · Posted On: 3/21/2009 3:17am

In the slim chance Hatton does win against Manny, he'd be the biggest money fight sure, but Marquez would be a lot more interesting for me at least.

Hilarious that it reads the potential date as July 11th since both UFC 100 and the next Affliction are heavily rumored for that date. I refuse to make any bad jokes about fireworks.

**BaronVonDingDong** · Posted On: 3/21/2009 12:27pm

Mosley-Margarito was the same night as the last Affliction and that got the biggest crowd the Staples Center had ever seen - turned out to be a much better fight too, although no one could've predicted that.

I dunno about this, but I think that while there are obviously fans of combat sports in general, the overlap between the audiences for boxing and MMA is not as big as everyone seems to think. Far from losing its entire audience to MMA as has long been assumed, boxing is having a resurgence, and while MMA continues to grow, it's a known quantity and has obviosuly levelled off somewhat. The fact that De La Hoya promoted both Margarito and Affliction shows that he obviously thinks there's separate audiences for both.

Mayweather can also see that boxing is on the up again, and doesn't want the party to go on without him.

**theword** · Posted On: 3/21/2009 7:05pm

This article got me super hopeful to see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but it also really makes me want to watch Adamek vs. Hopkins which will be a great fight.

It's like the pundits have always said (probably, if not they should have); there's nothing wrong with boxing that good fights can't fix.

**OZZ** · Posted On: 3/22/2009 7:17pm

Mayweather - Hatton 2 would be a waste of time. Unfortunately, the same thing would happen again.
I could go without ever seeing Floyd's smling face again..but I would definitely enjoy watching him go at it with Pacquiao.
It would be great to see Manny's tenacity overcome Floyd's slipperiness and watch him get TKO'd.
I would hate to see Manny lose though, and as much as I hate to admit it,I think he would have to have the fight of his life to beat Mayweather.
Not outside the realm of possibility though, Manny could win.

**theword** · Posted On: 3/22/2009 8:35pm

Originally Posted by OZZ

I could go without ever seeing Floyd's smling face again..but I would definitely enjoy watching him go at it with Pacquiao.
It would be great to see Manny's tenacity overcome Floyd's slipperiness and watch him get TKO'd.
I would hate to see Manny lose though, and as much as I hate to admit it,I think he would have to have the fight of his life to beat Mayweather.
Not outside the realm of possibility though, Manny could win.

What I like about Pac is that it's not like the man doesn't have any losses. He puts on exciting fights and I think that's much more important then Mayweather's 0. Manny could lose but as long as he gave PBF hell for 12 rounds I would be satisfied. But of course I would much rather see him win.

That being said I completely agree, Manny would have to have the fight of not only his life but of several other lifetimes to beat Mayweather.