Break’s over for Mayweather

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced his retirement from boxing in June 2008, many observers shared the same thought, expressed recently in a more contentious setting:

"You lie!"

After all, at 31, Mayweather wasn't out of his fighting prime, and he was never the type to leave money on the table. Even he referred to his hiatus as a "short vacation," so there was little question if he would return. "When?" was the operative question.

Break time is over. Mayweather, who retired 39-0 with 25 knockouts, returns tonight from a 21-month layoff against Juan Manuel Marquez in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden.

It's a fight Mayweather hopes will add to his legacy as one of his generation's great champions.

"To go down as a legend, you have to face the best fighters of your era," said Mayweather, a six-time champion in five divisions. "I beat everyone there was to beat before I took some time off. Now it's time to get back to work."

No title is at stake, but Mayweather-Marquez headlines a strong card, which includes two title bouts. Chris John defends his WBA featherweight belt against Rocky Juarez in a rematch of their 12-round draw Feb. 28 in Houston. The other title fight has Michael Katsidis meeting Vicente Escobedo for the vacant WBO interim lightweight belt.

Mayweather-Marquez was contracted at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, but with a clause penalizing either fighter for weighing over 144. Mayweather was 146 at Friday's weigh-in at the MGM Grand and is required to pay Marquez a six-figure amount per pound. ESPN.com reported the amount to be $300,000 per pound for a total of $600,000.

Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer for Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Marquez, confirmed the penalty but would not reveal the amount Marquez is to receive.

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) said he will have to fight an intelligent, mistake-free fight to win. Mayweather, as always, is worried only about himself, not his opponent.

"There's no blueprint to beat me," he said. "I'm back and I'm picking up where I left off."

Mayweather will be handsomely rewarded. According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, his purse is $10 million -- minus the penalty -- while Marquez will make $2 million. More important to Mayweather, none of his net purse is being seized by the Internal Revenue Service.

NAC executive director Keith Kizer said he spoke to the IRS and there are no liens against Mayweather's purse. Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's co-manager and CEO of Mayweather Promotions, has insisted for months that the fighter was not in trouble with the IRS despite widespread reports that he owes $6 million to the government.

The obvious question is how rusty will Mayweather be after nearly two years off? He said he doesn't think his hiatus will be an issue.

"I feel fast," Mayweather said. "I'm strong, and my timing is there.

"I think the break actually helped because I haven't had a break since 1987. So I think my body gets a chance to heal, and I just grew mentally as a person because normally you no longer can grow physically. But I feel good."

Mayweather is returning with what appears to be a huge chip on his shoulder, mainly because of his perceived mistreatment by the media. Stories about his finances have been in the news, as well as reports of a shooting incident last month at a Las Vegas roller skating rink that allegedly involved Mayweather associates.

The fighter expressed frustration over his treatment, even claiming there's a racial impetus behind the coverage.

"Our country needs to be more positive," Mayweather said. "We're already at war. We're in a recession, and all we want to continue to be is negative. I feel like the fans in the (United Kingdom) give me more love than I get in my own country. I get more love from another country than I get from my own country. That's crazy."

Asked if the coverage is racially motivated, Mayweather said: "It's not racist. But one thing I understand; if you're rich, you're a rich nigger. If you're poor, you're a poor nigger. If you're educated, you're a smart nigger. At the end of the day, they still look at me as a nigger. And that's something I understand.

"It's truthfully speaking. But one thing you can't knock, you can't knock my talent. You can write whatever you want, but at the end of the day, it's just me and him in the ring, one on one."

Mayweather's talent inside the ring has never been questioned, and even his abbreviated retirement hasn't dissuaded the public from believing he will win tonight. He is a 4-1 betting favorite over Marquez and said he isn't bothered by the rib injury that caused the fight to be postponed from its original July 18 date.

"The longest I've probably been away was nine months," he said. "I've never been out of the ring this long, ever. But the main thing is I got my timing back and I'm ready to fight."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.