Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not known for being a modest man. In fact, if you want to know just how good he is, then all you have to do is ask him. If you have ever seen one of the verbal sparring sessions between him and ESPN’s Brian Kenny, then you know this to be true. It is said that it isn’t bragging if you can back it up. Well by God Mayweather backed it up when he went up against Juan Manuel Márquez on September 19th at the MGM Grand Arena. He decimated the Mexican warrior from bell to bell with a combination of speed, size, and unmitigated skill. As for ring rust, well let’s just say that the twenty-one month layoff hasn’t diminished Mayweather’s in-ring ability one iota. His ability to evade damage made it almost seem as though Marquez was fighting a shadow or a ghost. The only difference being that this ghost will floor you with a left hook, and then smile as you struggle to get back to your feet.

Mayweather started the fight by circling the undersized Marquez and used the five inch reach advantage he enjoyed to land lightning quick jabs to the body and head. He also has a very effective method of turning what looks to be a jab into a very nasty left hook. It was this punch that put Marquez down in the second round for the first and only knockdown of the night. The majority of the rest of the fight was vintage Mayweather. After the knockdown, he calmly stalked Marquez without becoming overly aggressive. He never took any chances that would overly expose him to danger. Many would consider that to be boring, but if you are technically superior to your opponent then it would seem somewhat illogical to fight any other way. In fact, Mayweather’s impenetrable defense was one of the most exciting things this writer has seen in any fight sport in a long time. Mayweather took every round on my score card with the final result being 120-107. The official score cards were similar coming out at 118-109, 120-107, and 119-108.

Now after I have heaped all of that praise on Floyd Mayweather, there are some things that should be said about Juan Manuel Marquez. First, this man has no quit in him. He fought through an impossible situation and never once gave any indication of giving up. The problem was that he was at a disadvantage in every physical category. He could not match Mayweather in size or speed, and when you don’t have either one of those things going for you, it is very hard to win at this level. Add to that the fact that he fought one of the greatest technical fighters in history and it isn’t hard to see why Marquez lost this one. I hope casual fans that are not familiar with Marquez and saw him in this fight are not turned off by this performance. The man is truly one of the greatest boxers on the planet, but he is not a welterweight and it was just too much for him. I encourage everyone to go watch the epic battles between Marquez and Pacquiao. Those fights are a much better indicator of what Marquez can do in the ring than the Mayweather fight.

What’s next for Mayweather? That is the question that is currently being tossed around the boxing world. Shane Mosley entered the ring and challenged Mayweather after the fight, but that is only one of many exciting possibilities. The winner of Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto seems to be the most lucrative fight that could be made at the moment. Manny Pacquiao assumed Mayweather’s crown as pound-for -pound champ during his brief retirement. So if he can get through Miguel Cotto, it sets up a very obvious and tremendously bankable storyline. On the other hand if Cotto wins, then it sets up another mega-fight with one of Latin America’s superstars. It’s a win-win situation for Mayweather; something that seems to a recurring phenomenon in the career of the 32 year old boxing legend.