Mayweather-Marquez

As the days dwindle to Floyd Mayweather’s bout with Juan Manuel Marquez this Saturday, both fighters are reiterating the magnitude of this weekend’s event, both for each others’ careers and for the sport of boxing as a whole. Mayweather comes into the fight with an undefeated record of 39-0, while Marquez looks to establish himself as the premier boxer in the sports after two dominating victories following a disputed loss to Manny Pacquiao.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Marquez acknowledged the challenge ahead of him. “In my mind, Floyd Mayweather is the best pound-for-pound fighter, and to be number one, you have to fight number one,” he said. “I know people are betting against me, but it doesn’t matter to me. I have my mind and I have my concentration, and I have the motivation to win.”

Marquez is relying heavily on the support of his Mexican countrymen and has dedicated the fight to them. He has increased his weight for the fight and is confident his speed and agility will not be affected as a result. That will be tested, though, fighting near to Mayweather’s natural weight.

“Mayweather is elusive and a counter-puncher,” he said. “I am going to go after him. There is a chance he might try to come after me, but I am going to go after him.”

And true to form, Mayweather is sure that his power and fighting style will bring him an easy victory. “This isn’t going to be difficult,” he said Wednesday. “Nothing is difficult. I just had to get back into the groove. I had to keep working hard.” And he knows that Marquez is beatable: “I am not like other fighters. Other fighters have been beat. There is no blueprint to beat me. There is a blueprint to beat Marquez, because he has been beaten before.”

Pretty Boy Floyd is adding to the pageantry of the event with special accompaniment into the ring. By his side will be wrestling superstar Triple H as Mayweather enters the ring Saturday night.

“He and his stature are huge,“ Mayweather said. “And I can’t think of a better person to escort me to the ring for my return to boxing.”

This is Mayweather’s first fight since retiring from the sport after a technical knockout of Ricky Hatton in December 2007.

Not only is Mayweather expecting the fight to launch him into the conversation of greatest fighters of all time, HBO Pay-Per-View is also expecting this match to set a new mark for excellence. The broadcasting company hopes to set a new record for Pay-Per-View sales for a live event, even surpassing Mayweather’s 2007 fight against Oscar De La Hoya, which brought in $136.6 million in revenue.