LOS ANGELES // Boxing great Oscar De La Hoya believes Floyd Mayweather Jr will lose his unbeaten record when he takes on Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in a hotly anticipated welterweight fight in Las Vegas next week. Mayweather has won all 39 of his career bouts, including 25 by knockout, but the American will be making his first appearance in the ring in almost two years. "I just have this feeling that Marquez is going to pull this one off," De La Hoya, arguably the biggest name in contemporary boxing, said ahead of the September 19 clash over 12 rounds at the MGM Grand.
"I went down to Mexico and saw him train with my own eyes. I saw how much he bulked up; I saw how much strength he has gained; I saw how seriously he's taking this fight. "I'm convinced he will win this fight. He's looking sharp, he's looking fast and he's looking strong." Marquez, a Mexico City native who has a 50-4-1 record with 37 knockouts, has beefed up through a brutal training regime highlighted by lifting boulders up a mountain slope.
Although most boxing pundits back Mayweather to win because of his superior strength, speed and defence, De La Hoya predicts the Mexican's jab will be a telling factor. "Floyd Mayweather is an excellent boxer and he's the best fighter on the planet, no doubt about it," the 10-time world champion says. "But styles make fights and I'm sure Marquez has dissected Mayweather's style. "Marquez has an excellent jab and he is going to use triple, quadruple jabs. He's a smart fighter, and it's a matter of throwing those jabs and feigning those jabs. This is the fight of his life and he knows it."
De La Hoya is well versed in Mayweather's strengths, having lost the WBC super-welterweight title to him on a split decision in May 2007, the highest-grossing fight in boxing history. However, he believes the American could be troubled by Marquez in the early rounds on his belated return to the ring. Mayweather has not fought since his 10th round stoppage of Britain's Ricky Hatton in a WBC welterweight title bout in December 2007.
"Being the professional that Mayweather Jr is, I'm sure it's going to be no problem for him to adjust," said De La Hoya, a world champion in six different weight classes who posted a win-loss record of 39-6 including 30 knockouts. "At the same time, you know Marquez is coming at you right from the get-go, right from the start. I just feel Mayweather's going to have to be playing catch-up in the fight."
Mayweather, 32, is an undefeated five-division world champion while Marquez, 36, is a five-time world champion. * Reuters
