Maharlikan Times

"JET-WEIGHT" IS MAYWEATHER'S STORY OF A BOXING SCIENTIST

By Granville Ampong

       Mayweather did just that: settling his own game and setting the trend in countering catch-weight low riders. He weighed two pounds over the agreed catch-weight limit of 144 pounds during the official weigh-in versus Juan Manuel Marquez.

       And one may suspect his pre-fight game plan as to weight issue, which, conversely, gave him insurmountable energies and commanding aura to super-impose and had his power felt in the ring, which he carefully thought he needed to do.

       Rightly so, forget about the price he paid for the two extra pounds. It did not hurt him. It did not move a muscle for him to catch breath in his throat. He knew it all that it was to his advantage.

      Yes, that's right! And so they say : "Why not learn from Oscar de la Hoya's failures?" and "Why should he bother to truly submit his intelligence and delicate body to the state of health depravity?"

      Now, we have two great fighters from two extremes of recalcitrant bent, seeking to reassert their respective power over each other: "Catch-weight" versus "Jet-weight".

      As for Mayweather, "Jet-weight" as coined by this writer, lifts the limit. But, one has to pay the excess to get a high ride.

       Even though they have not face each other yet in the ring, Manny Pacquiao may have just been dislodged from his controversial, mythical Pound-4-Pound kingship with the second advent of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. into the sweet science after the latter's 21 months of hiatus, at least according to some of my fellow writers.

       On the other hand, while proponents of "Number One vs. Numero Uno" held a special appeal to boxing fans in recent weeks prior to the fight, many boxing analysts held up their thoughts as they anticipated in what could be the prospect of Mayweather's come back performance yesterday, as he fought Pacquiao's most hated foe, Juan Manuel Marquez, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, in their 12 rounds of boxing.

       But, Mayweather brought his usual best in two-folds: one, as an effective critical thinker and, another, as an efficient fighter.

      Yes, he is a boxing scientist in his own right. And he knows that catch-weight only matters much to the advantage of the entrant from lower division.

       He ain't foolish, so to speak, to submit to the wishes of Juan Manuel Marquez, to get drained, to get less muscle mass and to get to feel the ill-effects of having imbalanced electrolytes.

      Blame him not: his "Jet-weight" defense tells it all of a boxing scientist.

       For a time, it may sound as if Mayweather chose the wrong route to flawlessly win the game. But, at least, it jolted most of his critics into "Yes".

       The power of "Jet-weight" is back!

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